
Glass. 
Book 



Y- '^ A 



IIVCIDENTS 

i 






IN THE 



6 i • 



I^IFE OF JOHN EDSAIili. 



'' And mine has been the fate of those 

*• To whom the goodly earth and air 

** Are bann'd and barr'd — forbidden fare." 



CATSKILL : 

PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR. 
1831. 



EDITOR'S PREFACE. 

In presenting the following work to the pub- 
lic, the editor would frankly confess his in- 
competency to the task of compilement, tri- 
fling as i - may appear, and trifling as it truly 
is. The youth of the narrator at the time 
when he launched ou^upon the world, and the 
almost unbroken succession of misfortunes 
which, for a number of years, appeared to 
mark him out as their victim, are circumstan- 
ces which require the pen of an able biogra- 
pher — the pen of one who could have told 
how he had committed his bark to a summer 
sea, whose waves were still, and whose sands 
were sparkling, and how the storm had de- 
stroyed the bright images which were pencil- 
led upon its glassy surface , how he had fanci- 
fully dressed the upas of the desert in gar- 
lands, to approach and pluck which, was death , 
how bitterness had mantled upon the brim of 
that cup which he had fondly supposed was 
filled with sweets j how thorns, sharp and 
deadly as the poisoned rapier of Laertes^ 



IV 

were mingled with the flowers which seemed 
springing up in his path j and how he had 
tasted of the "golden apple whose core was 
ashes." But it is not so. The tale has been 
told by one perhaps less gifted with imagina- 
tive talent than most persons. It has been 
told in homely style and perhaps unintelligi- 
bly. As it is, he offers it for your perusal, in 
the earnest hope that your lot and his may be 
cast in pleasant places, and that the sufferings 
and privations which he has endeavored to re- 
cord, may never embitter the life of either. 

J. D. P. 



APOLOGY. 



The inclemency of the past winter, pre- 
venting frequent interviews with the subject 
of the following pages, and a belief that the 
editor's road to fame might not be traced im- 
mediately through this biography, will serve, 
in part, as an apology for the disconnected 
style in which it may be written, and when 
joined with his total inexperience in such mat- 
ters, will form a very tolerable excuse. 

The truth is, there w^as a book to be made, 
and the reader will be good enough to bear in 
mind, that any deficiency in matter, in the " in- 
ward man," is supplied by the unusual quan- 
tum of sheepskin upon the cover. There is 
but little doubt that those who purchase will 
get the worth of their money, and upon lay- 
ing down the work, exclaim with the Scotch- 
man, " tiiere is aye milk enough for the par- 
ritch." 



m 



The following Certificate from Gen- 
tlemen of high standing in com- 
munity, will satisfy those who are 
unacquainted ivith Mr. Edsall, 
that his narrative is deserving of 
the fullest credit. 

We the undersigned, are acquainted with 
Mr JOHN EDSALL of Catskill, and 
believe that a narrative of events, written 
or dictated by him, will be substantially 
correct, and should be entitled to unlimited 

credit. 

B. W. DWIGHT, 
HENRY McKlNSTRY, 
EZRA HAWLEY, 
JOHN ADAMS, 
CHARLES BAKER, 
HORATIO GATES, 
BENJ. HAXTUN, 
THOMAS HALE, 
P. BREASTED, 
HORACE WILLARD, 
M. CROSWELL, 
T. OH. CROSWEL, 
JOSEPH ALLEN, 
WM'S. SEAMAN. 

Catskill, March 12, 1881. 



INCIDENTS 



IN THE 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 



CHAPTER I. 

The place of my nativity boasts no celebrity ; indeed, 
so little is it known or renowned, that I have searched 
unsuccessfully in a number of gazetteers for a bare men- 
tion of it, and to make up for the oversiglit of geogra- 
phers, only, I now notice it. 

The " English Neighborhood" is situated in New- 
Jersey, and is, as far as my recollections extend, a \ery 
pleasant little place; at least it so seems to me, for with 
the remembrance are associated pleasing feelings of 
youthful happiness, before I became acquainted witlj the 
toils and hardships, disappointments and sorrows which 
have, in so rapid succession, chequered my subsequent 
life. 

I was born at this place, May 1, 178S. Uy fadier 
owned a small farm there, and upon this I worked as 
much as 1 could at my age. My parents were not 
wealthy, and owing to their indigent circumstances, I 
received no sciiooling, but grew up until I arrived at 
the age of ten years, in ignorance, without any know- 
ledge of books or letters. 



8 INCIDENTS IN THE 

At the time I attained this age, my brother-in-law, 
named Samuel Gibbons, came to my father's to pay a 
visit. While here he gave me an animated description 
of the manner of life in New-York, and by repeated 
conversations, he so completely filled my brain with 
visions of future greatness, all of which were to be re- 
alised in the metropolis, and for which nature had un- 
doubtedly fashioned me, that I entreated my father to 
allow me to accompany him to the city. After some 
time he consented, upon condition that Gibbons should 
take me as an apprentice and send me to school, v/hich 
was promised. This promise was not performed, for 
immediately upon arriving at New- York, I was appren- 
ticed to Jolm Fink, (a butcher) who was not remarkable 
as a man of science, and did not care that his workmen 
should be. 

I merelv mention this want of education us a reason 
why the following narrative may not be accurate as to 
dates, and beg the reader to bear in mind that it render- 
ed me unable to keep a journal of events as they trans- 
pired. 

Five and a half years elapsed, during which I learn- 
ed to swear and butcher, without any thing wort!iy of 
record occurring, when a little dilUculty with Mr. Fink's 
better half happened. The circumstances of this diffi- 
culty it is not necessary here to state ; it is sufficient to 
say, tliat I left the service of Mr. Fink and his house- 
hold, and "the world was all before me, where to 
choose." 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. ^ 

1 worked with Daniel Winship about nine months 
longer, when feeling a disposition to ramble, I proceed- 
ed up the North river in company with a young man 
named John Stembler. At Troy we applied for work 
at the slaughter-house of Mr. Nathaniel Wilson, now a 
resident of this village, and known at that time, as well 
as the present, by the familiar appellation of " Uncle 
Nat." He did not appear disposed to give us employ- 
ment, as he believed we were too young to do much la- 
bor. We asked hini to try us, which he did, and we ac- 
quitted ourselves so well that he retained us the remain- 
der of the season of slaughtering, when we left his ser- 
vice with feelings of regret, and returned to New-York. 
1 here went to work with John Fink again, and in his 
employ I remained until I was villainously sold to assist 
in furthering the views of a set of aspiring men in over- 
turning the laws and government of a country with 
which they had nothing to do, and whose inhabitants 
cursed them for the pretended protestations of libera- 
tion from laws better than they themselves were capable 
of framing. 

As this part of my life has been the most painful, and 
attended by the greatest number of hardships and suf- 
ferings, it will not be surprising that in speaking of it 
my feelings may be somewhat accrimonious, or that re- 
sentment at the cruel deception practiced upon me 
should break out into something like execrations. 

Four months after my return from Troy, Mr. Fink 
wished to engage me, ostensibly, to guard the mail. 



10 INCIDENTS IN THE 

which had been robbed somewhere between New-Or- 
leans and Washington. He said that he had orders to 
hire a guard, from the general government, and repre- 
senting the pa}^ as handsome and the duty light, 1 was 
induced to enter the service, together with fifteen other 
butcher boys. 

Shordy before the vessel in which we were to embark 
was ready to sail, Mrs. Fink advised me to take my 
clothes and go over to New-Jersey, and remain there 
tmtii the vessel had sailed, and concluded by telHng me 
that nothing would be said about it on my return. This 
advice I did not take, a desire to see the world weighing 
against all in}' fears of danger. This desire has been 
full}^ gratified, my acquaintance with the world has been 
intimate, and I freely confess that I have now no wish 
for a closer view of its roughest spots. 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 



u 



CHAPTER II. 

On the second of February, 1806, I embarked on 
board the ship Leander. at New-York. This vessel be- 
longed, I think, to the firm of Smith and Ogden. Our 
passage was pleasant, and nothing remarkable occurred 
for three or four days. The first strange object that I 
saw, was a man about six feet high, dressed in a red 
morning gown and slippers, and I know not why, I be- 
gan to feel suspicious that we were more likely to be go- 
ing to roh the mail than to guard it. 

This man would be called robust, were it not for a 
paleness of countenance almost unearthly. His hair 
was silver white, and he was remarkable for large quan- 
tity of hair or whiskers growing from the inside of his 
ears. His hair was tied behind and powdered, and al- 
together he WHS a man whose appearance was not to me 
prepossessing. 

Not knowing before that any person other than those 
whom I had already seen, was on j^board, 1 very natu- 
rall}' made some enquiries, and found that this person- 
age was no other than General Miranda, of whom I 
had previously known little, and from whose appear- 
ance 1 did not care of knowing more. Immediately 
upon coming from the cabin, he entered into a con- 
versation with the officers, without noticing us. He 
was the most restless person in conversation that I ever 
saw, his feet or hands being continually in motion. 



12 INCIDENTS IN THE 

Shortly after the appearance of this phantom, we were 
hailed by the British frigate Cleopatra, Captain Wright, 
(see Appendix A.) Upon heaving to, we were boarded 
by one of her officers. Our crew were marshalled upon 
the deck, and his Britannic Majesty's lieutenant choos- 
ing a certain number of them, and also choosing to call 
tliem Irishmen, took them with him on board the Cleo- 
patra. General Miranda accompanied him, and stayed 
on board the frigate through the night. Upon his re- 
turn, next morning, he brought with him a number of 
men corresponding to the number taken from us, who 
he pronounced to be American seamen. This might 
have been true, yet the exchange reminded me much 
(to use a homely sailors' phrase) of " swapping a black 
dog for a monkey." But as they did not ask boot, we 
came off better than might have been expected. 

I was by this time thoroughly convinced that the sto- 
ry of guarding the mail was a fabrication, from the des- 
potic acts of authority exercised by our officers, and 
from the length of our passage ; but as all conversation 
upon the subject was prohibited, we had nothing to do 
but wait the issue in silence. 

On the fifteenth of February, we arrived at Jaquemel. 
At this place a printing press was set up, the tri-colored 
flag hoisted, and proclamations issued by General Mi- 
randa, addressed to the South Americans, the subject 
of which was the fancied wrongs sustained by the na- 
tives from the Spanish government, commisseration 



>*• 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 13 

for their sufferings and huge promises of assistance in 
throwing off the yoke of despotism. 

The cloven foot of the expedition in which I had in- 
nocently became an actor, now protruded from under 
the cloak of kindness which Mr. John Fink had gra- 
ciously thrown over it, and I determined to effect my 
escape, if possible. Guarding mails, or even females, 
appeared like items when compared with the grand sum 
total of this crazy expedition. 

It was reported that the Cleopatra would join us 
here, together with a merchant vessel called the Empe- 
ror; but days and weeks elapsed, and nothing was 
heard from them, and the ardor of General Miranda 
began to flagg. The first burst of passion (mistaken 
for enthusiasm) had exhausted itself, and the natives be- 
gan to enquire whether they would be in any better si- 
tuation, were tliey to exchange the government of his 
Cathsiic Majesty for that of General Miranda. It is 
not my intention to write a history of the expedition. — 
My knowledge, although personal, was more limited 
than perhaps that of most of my readers, and as its po- 
litical complexion, if it had any, was the theme of scrib- 
blers and newsmongers, and occupied a conspic^uous 
place in all the journals of the day, I shall refer to them 
for information. My business is to tell a story of indi- 
vidual sufferings and hardships, and I care as little 
about any thing beyond that, in relation to General Mi- 
randa or his projects, as I do about the color of Mr. 
Jefferson's breeches, which was, I believe, also a mat- 
ter of some dispute among the sapient editors of the day 

B 



14 INCIDENTS IN THE 

The officers were here commissioned by the Genera?, 
and oaths administered to be faithful to the j3eople o-f 
South America, to obey the orders of a constitutional 
government and its officers, and to be governed by the 
articles of vvar of the United States, v/ith alterations to 
suit the meridian of any place. 

Captain Wright and Major Smith vrent to Port 
au Prince for the purpose of learning, if possible, what 
had become of the two expected vessels, but returned 
without hearing from either of them. They, however, 
procured two schooners, the Bee and the Bacchus. The 
latter they said they chartered; but the former was5iO- 
len, or in other words, "they pressed her;" and alto- 
gether, we were a formidable squadron. VVhen a boy, 
I have alarmed a whole pond of ducks with a parcel of 
jyaper gun-boats, but we soon found that we had mista- 
ken the pond in this instance, for though our adversaries 
resembled ducks from their eternal "quackingJ' yet 
they evinced very little disposition for " waddling.''^ 

I was now transferred from the Leander to the schoon- 
er Bee; and soon after this transfer, apian was con- 
certed by a small number of us to effect our escape, if 
possible. We seized the boat at night, and rowed to the 
shore. A reward having been offered for the capture of 
any sailors who might be seen on shore, and for their 
return to the vessel, the negroes were on the alert, so 
that we enjoyed but a few hours' liberty, were taken, 
carried on board the vessel and put in double irons for 
two days, for the crime of seeking that freedom which^^ 
our general had promised to the natives, and which pro- 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 15 

mise It is lucky for them that he did not fulfil, as liberty 
in leading-strings or safety-chains is no very great mat- 
ter, at least 1, for one, never fancied it. 

We stayed at Jaqnemel about six. weeks, when we 
sailed for the island of Bonaire. Our voyage was one 
of uninteresting events. We had, however, some little 
exercising, by way of straddling the bowsprit and en- 
acting the sword exercise. 

O, we were brave fellows! We cut the air into inch 
pieces ; and had that element been composed of cloth, 
it would have looked like a slashed doublet, after one 
of our valorous combats with it. Don Quixotte's en- 
counter with the wind-mill was a fool to our performan- 
ces. 

Owing lo the ignorance of our pilot, we found our- 
selves far to the ieward of Bonaire, with current and 
wind against ns, and were obliged to put into the island 
of Aruba, a small island in the ba}^ of Venezuela, at 
that time subject to the Dutch, and which we reached 
early in April. We were here all taken on shore, and 
paraded. We again went through the sword exercise 
and were also drilled with muskets. General Miranda 
reviewing us. FalstafT says, " If I be not ashamed of 
my soldiers, I am a souced gurnet :" but, although we 
had nothing to boast of, our commander immediately 
raised our pay from fifteen to thirty dollars per month. 
By this I mean that lie agreed to do so. 

We had by this time learned that we were not goin^- 
to our original destination, and did not like this shew 



16 Incidents in the 

of liberality, as we were not made acquainted with the^ 
dirty work which we might be required to do. 

Immediately after returning to the vessel, we set sail 
for Caraccas, on the gulph of Mexico, in the province of 
Venezuela. 

We had by this time made up our minds, individual- 
ly, to escape; but we had no means, neither the courage 
to act in concert. Our discipline was extremely rigor- 
ous, and we feared that we should be overheard by our 
officers, if we darp^ ' " .^emble in squads to communi- 
cate to each other our ideas or feelings upon the subject 
of liberating ourselves. I know not when I have felt 
myself in such a dilemma. — Forced from home by the 
misrepresentations of a villain, (it is a harsh term but a 
true one) before I knew it, I found myself engaged in a 
piratical war, with a country against which I had never 
entertained a bitter feeling, against the lav.s of my own 
country, my conscience and my God. Which way I 
turned my e3^es, death stared me full in the face. The 
Spaniards would certainly immolate me, if they caught 
me ; I could not fly for refuge to my own country, whose 
laws 1 believed I had unwittingl3^ broken; escape seem- 
ed the onl}' course, and this was one which I had not the 
means of pursuing. 

Two of my shipmates, Henry Sperry and Benjamin 
Davis, undertook to plan our escape, and ascertain the 

minds of the crew, all of whom they found resolved to 

• - 

get off, if possible. , 

All things were concerted, and the time and manner 
of attempt decided upon, when we had the mortification 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 17 

to receive orders to come up with the Leander and to 
keep close to her. These orders were received only a 
few hours before the time appointed for carrying our 
plan into operation, and of course, defeated our hopes. 

This night was spent by me in unpleasant reflections 
upon the failure of our enterprise and dark forebodings 
of the future : so that it can easily be imagined that my 
feelings were not of the most pleasing kind, upon dis- 
covering two small, armed Spanish vessels, called 
Guar da Costas, wliose appearance. .75 decidedly hos- 
tile, at about ten o'clock the following morning. 

As soon as they were seen by the Leander, she hailed 
us, and ordered us to engage them on the leeward side. 
The Leander was to attack them upon the windward 
and to board them. 

We obeyed the order, and Iiaving fairly got ivarmcd 
up, took no notice of our consort until we had almost 
come wilhin gun-shot, v/hen looking about for the Le- 
ander and our brave general, we saw that they, believ- 
ing "discretion to be the better part of valor," had 
hauled down their courses and were making off with all 
possible speed, leaving us to make the best of a bad 
bargain. 

If we had received any intimation that there was to 
be any running, we might easily have escaped, as the 
Bee was the fastest sailor of our three vessels. 

One of the Spanish vessels chased the Leander, but 
could not overtake her, and returned to assist the other 
in making Sure of us. We started the water in the hold 
and threw over a part of our ballast, for the purpose of 



18 INCIDENTS IN THE 

following the example of the courageous Miranda, but 
all to no purpose. We tossed over our guns, also, but 
it would not do ; and having deprived ourselves of the 
means of defence in our anxiety to escape, we could not 
but expect to fall helpless victims to these merciless 
Spaniards. 

After getting within gun-shot, oneof the vessels pour- 
ed into us a broadside of cannon balls, which fortunately 
killed no one but Captain Huddle, who came on board 
at Jaquemel; but the crev^ all ran below at this salute, 
excepting David Winton, Joseph Paulding and m37self 
As they came nearer to us, they gave us a volley of 
musket balls, which wliistled past us, cutting our rig- 
ging considerably ; but providentially we escaped un- 
hurt. They now rounded to, and getting out their jol- 
ly-boat, boarded us upon our starboard side. David 
Winton, being upon that side, was immediately knocked 
down by a blow from a cutlass, taken by the waistband 
of his pantaloons and thrown head foremost down into 
the hold, a depth of about ten feet, upon the remainder 
of our stone ballast. 

Startled at this unceremonious treatment, Paulding and 
myself, who were upon the larboard side of the deck, 
plunged overboard, and I regret to say, that he was 
drowned, although it may be better that he was saved 
from the sufferings which were the lot of those who sur- 
vived him. When I rose to the surface, I discovered a 
man standing upon the deck, holding (as I then suppo- 
sed) a cocked pistol, directed at my head. I immediate- 
ly dovej to dodge the ball, and remained under the wa- 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 19 

ter until I was obliged to rise for breath. Upon my 
second emersion, I was beckoned to come on board by 
one of the Spanish officers, and being assured by their 
pacific motions, I swam to the jolly-boat, which was 
towed at the schooner's stern. Here I experienced the 
first instance of humane treatment which I had for some 
time received. Being wet and chilled with cold, the 
keeper of the boat kindly threw over me his coat, which 
not only warmed my body, but infused a warmth into 
my heart. I felt better satisfied with all around me, and 
began to believe that I had done well by exchanging the 
service of Miranda for that of a prisoner to Spaniards. 

The boat was now ordered along side the vessel, and 
I was taken on board. It was decided to take us to 
Porto-Cavallo, and I was directed to make a square sail 
for the schooner, the wind being fair for entering the 
harbor. After finishing the sail, I was ordered to set 
it, which I did, and was immediately after taken below 
and confined. 

I now had leisure for rumination, but alas ! for a sin- 
gle thought or idea. Myriads danced rapidly through 
my brain, but not a detached one could I catch. Hopes, 
fears, recollections, anticipations, were crowded together 
as thickly as stockjobbers at the opening of the rail- 
road books, and I only found relief from their oppres- 
sion, by a short, oft-broken slumber. 



20 INCIDENTS IN THE 



CHAPTER III. 

At about midnight we reached Porto-Cavallo. We 
were called upon deck and our hands tied behind us. — 
We were then lifted over the vessel's side, and suffered 
to drop into the boat like sacks. We had no chance to 
pick out the place for alighting, and he was lucky who 
fell upon his more unfortunate messmate. This summa- 
ry debarkation was completed, with a few sprains, some 
barked shins, and one or two dislocations of joints, and 
we soon found ourselves ashore at Porto-Cavallo. 

My first welcome was from an old Spaniard. He was 
dried up like a beef's tongue, shabbily dressed, and 
wore an old hat without a brim, and I believe destitute 
of a top to its crown. He stepped up to me, and with- 
out saying so nmch as " by your leave," took m}' hat 
(a very good one) from my head, and replacing it by 
his own, remarked in broken English, *' A very good 
ehange, Jack.^^ This singular way of transferring pro- 
perty did not please me altogether ; but my hands were 
tied, not only by fear, but with cords. The old fellow 
probably thought that I was not long to keep my head, 
and of course would not want a hat; and so I forgave 
him. My stay was so short, above ground, at this place 
that I can give no geographical description of it. By 
looking on the map you will find it on the coast of Ca- 
raccas. It is famous for nothing but its gloomy dun- 
geons, and from having once been attacked by the Eng- 



Life of john edsall 21 

iish, who were, however, repulsed. (This was before 
ftiy tirae.) We were now chained in pairs, and driven 
to the dungeons of Saint PhilUp's Castle, into which 
we were thrown. 

We were about sixty irl number, and were equally di- 
vided atid put into two vaults, and so small were these 
apartments, that we had scarcely room to lay down at 
one time. 

The imagination of the reader must assist in filling up 
the picture of these dismal cells : no words can be found 
for a description of them. Memory shrinks from a re- 
view of their loathsome and disgusting stench and fihh, 
and sickness, suffocation and death. 

A fellow sufferer (Mr. Smith,) thus describes it: " The 
living sepulchre in which we were immured was a dark 
cavity in the massy wall of the castle, sunk far below 
the surface of the soil. When it rained, which was of- 
ten, the water soaked through the foundation ; and when 
wearied nature gave way to a desire of repose, we sank 
under our chains, to wallow in filth, and mud, and mire. 
Above, and on every side of this vault, a dew or sweat 
trickled down, and when, after a few days, our clothes 
had rottM from our backs, upon scraping the moisture 
from our bodies with the edge of our hands, it fell in 
streams to the earth. 

" When we were first thrown in, there were a few small 
holes for light and ventillation, high above the door, but 
these, from caution or cruelty, our keepers closed up." 



!^S INCIDENTS IN THE 

Happy was he who could get a chance at the key-hole 
or the crack beneath the door: for although this was 
perhaps not the most fragrant air that ever "breathed 
over a bed of violets," yet it answered the end of keep- 
ing life in us, and none of us had a desire to die " before 
our time came." 

*' It is strange how long life may be, supported in ca- 
ses of such extreme misery. One only expired under 
the tortures of suffocation : this was Captain Durning. 
He bore up bravel}^ for three days, but the fourth put a 
period to his sufferings and his existence. How we sur- 
vived I know not; we ate nothing of consequence; we 
wasted to skeletons. We were reserved for other suffer- 
ings, and the hand of death passed over us like shad- 
ows."" 

Thus much have I taken the liberty of borrowing 
from the narrative of a fellow sufferer, because I do not 
like, myself, to dwell upon the liorrible. Those who are 
disposed to be sceptical, or who think that the case might 
not have been so hard with us, are respectfully invited 
to " try for themselcesy 

An order was received to convey us to the city of Ca- 
raccag. But five were sent, however, and they returned 
after going as far as Valencia. The reason why this 
order was countermanded, I never knew. I liave al- 
ways supposed that the government believed the natives 
to be more favorably disposed towards General Miran- 
da than they actually were, and feared that we might be 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 23 

rescued upon our passage from Porto-Cavalloto Car- 
raccas. 

While in prison at Porto-Cavallo, money and clo- 
thing wei e brought to the doors of the castle, directed 
to Jerhn Smith, who was at this time on board theLean- 
der. My resemblance to him was so great, that I had 
been mistaken for him ; and this was an artifice to in- 
duce me to own the name^ — my own name being believ- 
ed to be assumed. I was advised by some of my com- 
panions to do so, but I refused, very fortunately, for it 
afterwards appeared that he was considered highly crir 
minal by the Spaniards, and to have taken his name 
would have been certain death to me. 

In the latter part of June, or first of July, we were 
taken out of our dungeons, to be tried for the crimes of 
piracy and rebellion. The place of trial was a largo 
hall upon the top of the wall, open at each end, to admit 
the air to pass freely through it. Our chains hindered 
us in climbing up the stone stairs leading to the hall, and 
we were carried up them. 

Morning is not more welcome to the sick man, whose 
dreams have been of death, nor tidings of a long absent 
lover to a pining maiden, than was to us the untainted 
air of heaven which revelled through this hall of justice, 
and disdained not to kiss the cheeks of the wretched be- 
ings who stood there to answer why the earth should not 
be rid of them, and the hour in which they should be 
no more, pronounced. - 



24 INCIDENTS IN THE 

I was examined by the lieutenant-governor of Carac- 
cas. He appeared to be willing to give us a fair trial, 
and had more humanity in his countenance than any 
other one of the judges. 

I was at first asked what religious faith I had ••been 
educated in. Upon replying that my parents were Me- 
thodists, I was sworn upon the Bible. The Catholics 
were sworn by the sign of the cross. After taking the 
oath I was asked if I was not the son of John Smith of 
New-York. I replied that I was not. The interroga- 
tor did not seem to credit my story, and remarked, that 
if I were not, it was strange that money, clothing and 
other necessaries had been sent to me. I persisted in 
saying that I was not the man, but told the interpreter 
that John Smith, for whom they wished me to suffer, was 
en board the Leander and out of their reach. I was 
then sent back to my dungeon. Five times was I drag- 
ged before this judge, and threats, entreaties and promi- 
ses made use of, to induce me to assume this name. At 
my last examination, finding me resolved upon this sub- 
ject, they proceeded to inquire what I had to say in 
extenuation of having been taken in fighting against 
them, in an attempt to overthrow the government of 
that country? 1 told them that I had been foully 
deceived, and betrayed into the expedition — that nothing 
was farther from my thoughts, than leaving my own 
country to fight against another — that I was unac- 
quainted with the fact that Gen. Miranda was on board 
the vessel when I embarked at New-York, and that I 
knew nothing of him or his views, until we were fairly 



I 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 25 

engaged — that 1 had endeavoured to make my escape 
twice, but had not succeeded, and that I had not struck 
a blow in the engagement. 

Little credit was given to tlie story. The Judge said 

he couM not believe that in any civilized country, men 

could be betrayed so basely, that the laws of any coun- 

ti*y would require the head of the offender, and that 

unless 1 could tell some storj^, the truth of which would 

be more probable, that our case was truly a hard one. 

He asked us why we did not, when we found ourselves 

about to engage with a Spanish vessel, surrender, if we 

did not like the service of Miranda f I answered that 

we were so strictly disciplined, and were so totally 

unacquainted with naval warfare, that we could not do 

so, that we had long wished to escape and rather chose 

to be taken than to remain as we then were, that we 

were Americans, and that not having been able to effect 

our own deliverance, we would notiiinch in the hour of 

danger, as the name of coward and American could ncfl 

be linked. 1 rJso told him that I knew but one story, 

and that was true, and that I would not forge another 

to save a life, which had been one of sorrows, and 

hardly worili preserving honestly, and certainly one 

which should not end in falsehood. 

We were so carefully watched in our answers, tliat 
Lieutenant Farqnarson was sentenced to death for some 
little inconsistency in one point of his story. 

After being remanded to our dungeons, a great deal 

of pains v/as taken to procure information against any 

of the natives who might be in the interest of, or con- 

C 



^6 INCIDENTS IN THE 

iiected with Miranda. The guards mingled with the 
prisoners, and by repeated conversations, endeavoured 
to catch some inadvertent expression, that might tend to 
criminate either the prisoner, or any of the inhabitants, 
but in vain. (Ve who had been engaged by Mr. Fink, 
knew nothing ; and if the others did, they did not 
divulge the secret. While we were' being tried, the 
prisoners were separated ; some were put into cells by 
squads of three or four. Some were confined in solitary 
dungeons, and one officer was put in the stocks. I 
remained in my old situation, rendered rather more 
comfortable from being thinned of its numbers, but no 
way improved in appearance. Not a chair, or bench, 
or bed, or blanket was allowed us. The damp cold 
earth was our table, our seat, and our resting place. 

When the first five were taken to trial, they agreed to 
give us a signal upon their passing our doors, as to their 
probable fate. I believed that we should be killed by 
tiie bayonet or shot, from the additional number ^f 
troops by which the castle was invested, and v/ho we 
could see from the crack in our door. Others believed 
we should be hanged, and this belief was strengthened 
upon seeing the prisoners, above mentioned, put their 
hands to their necks as they passed our dungeon on 
their way from their examination. 

I now began to feel rather unpleasant, not that my 
life had been so happy, as to wish for its being length- 
ened, but to be condemned in a foreign land, to die 
without having committed a crime, to have my head 
exposed to the gaze of the rabble, and to be branded in 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 27 

life with the name of traitor and pirate, and to have my 
remains insuUed by strangers, tried my heart. 1 
thought of t!ie home of my childhood — I thought of 
the fond tenderness of my mother, of the paternal care 
of my father. I called to mind the anguish which 
would spring up in the bosom of her who gave me birth, 
when it was told her that she had nursed a pirate, and of 
the grey hairs of my parent,which would go down in sor- 
row to tbe grave, at the thought that the son from whom 
he had expected consolation and support in his evening 
of life, had died the death of a common malefactor, and 
I wept that there would be none to wipe off these foul 
aspersions from my character. 



23 INCIDENTS IN THE 



CHAPTER IV. 

We remained in our dungeon for about two weeks 
longer, when we were taken out, as we supposed, to end 
our sufl'erings with our lives, as we were told by our 
interpreter to " come out and be hanged." 

We were led through a long passage, in the centre of 
which hung the rotten carcase of a man in an iron 
gibbet, encased by a wooden frame or cage. The flesh 
had become completely putrid, and was dropping, and 
hanging from the bones. The smell was of that deadly 
description, which no carcase, so much as that of a 
human being, emits. Whether this was hung here for 
the purpose of terrifying us, or for what other reason 
it may have been placed so immediately in our way, I 
know not, at any rate, to pass through the gangway or 
passage, it was necessary to stoop, to go beneath it. 
After getting to the outside of the prison, we found 
ourselves confronted by a large body of soldiers, with 
their muskets and fixed bayonets pointed directly at 
us. They divided into two lines, and between them we 
were ordered to kneel, our irons so arranged as to 
couple us at the ancles. I now supposed that our time 
had come to die, as one file of the armed men were sta- 
tioned in front, with their muskets pointed immediately 
at us. 

We soon found that we had been placed in this situa- 
tion, only to hear our sentence read to us. A few mili- 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 29 

tary officers, priests, and an interpreter, performed this 
office as follows. The names of ten of our number, 
who were all officers under General Miranda, were then 
called, viz ; 

Lewis Farquarson, Daniel Kemper, 

Charles Johnson, John Ferris, 

Miles L. Hall, James Gardner, 

Thomas A. Billap, Thomas Donahue, 

Gustavus A. Berguad, Paul T. George. 

The following sentence was read to them fiom a 
paper, by the interpreter. 

*' On the morning of to-morrow, (July 21st,) at six 
o'clock, you and each of you, are sentenced to be hanged 
by the neck untd you are dead ; after which your heads 
are to be severed from your bodies, placed upon poles 
and distributed for exposure in the most public parts of 
the country," Sic. 

I never saw men who met the sentence of death witli 
somucli calmness. Worn down and emaciated as they 
were, they evinced nothing like fear, but proudly and 
firmly did they hear their sentence pronounced, and 
shewed that death came to them more as a friend, than 
as a spoiler. 

The next fo.urteen were the company in which I was 
classed. We were then called as follows : 

John T. Sullivan, John Edsall, 

Jeremiah Powell, Henry Ingersoll, 

John H. Sherman, Thomas Gill, 



>? 



30 INCIDENTS IN THE 

David Hakle, John Hays, 

John Moore, Daniel McKay, 

John M. Elliott, Bennet B. Negu 

Robert Sanders, Peter Nault}^ 

I believed that our fate \vould be similar to that of 
the ten before mentioned, and after hearing our sen-: 
teiice, I think I should wilhngly have exchanged situa- 
tions with them* 

We were to be imprisoned, in irons, in the castle of 
Omoah, near the bay of Honduras, at hard labour, for 
ten years, after which time we were not to be permitted 
to leave the country, unless it should be the pleasure of 
his catholic majesty. 

The next set were the following persons, viz : 

Wm. W. Lippencott, Joseph Bennet, 

Moses Smith, David Winton, 

Stephen Burtis, Eaton Burlington, 

Phineas Raymond, John Scott, 

Matthew Buclianan, James Grant, 

John Burk, Alexander BuchanaU; 

John Parsels, Frederick Rigus. 

These were sentenced to imprisonment, chains, and 
hard labour at Port Rico, upon the island of that name, 
one of the West Indian Islands, fifty miles east '^*' 
Hispaniola, and which belongs to the Spaniards. 

Nineteen more, named 

William Lonff, Samuel Price, 

Benjamin Davis, Elory King, 



LIFE OF JOHN ED5ALL. 31 

Joseph L. Heckle, Hugh Smith, 

Henry Sperry, Abrain Head, 

David Newberry, James Hyatt, 

William Cartwright, William Pride, 

Samuel Towsier, Pompey Grant, 

William Bunside, George Ferguson, 

Robert Stephenson, Robert Rains, # 
Benjamin Nicholson, 

The last six of whom were blacks, w^ere sentenced to 
eisht years hard labour in Bocca Chica, at the entrance 
of the* Harbour of Carthagena in South America. 
These men were common sailors, (excepting Davis and 
Sperry,) and were therefore treated more lejiient, as 
they were not supposed to be acquainted widi the 
design of the expedition. Davis and Sperry owed their 
mitigation to the circumstance of their having concerted 
plans to escape from the Schooner Bee, before we were 
taken. 

We were now marched back to our prisons, where 
we were told that we should be taken out again in the 
morning, to witness the execution of those who had been 
sentenced to death. 

The next morning, we were accordingly, roused from 
our slumbers, (if indeed, any of lis could sleep,) and 
led through a line of soldiers with their bayonets pointed 
at our breasts, in the following style. Our hands were 
first tied behind us, and a rope was then fastened to the 
forward man, by a knot; this rope was rove along 
between the arm and side of those who followed, to the 



32 INCIDENTS IN THE 

man in the rear, to whom it was fastened, and we were 
in addition to this, doubly ironed. 

The condemned prisoners were then brought forward, 
dressed in white gowns and caps. Three of them were 
Roman Catholics, and these were placed at the head of 
the procession, with priests, and torches, and crosses and 
divert emblems of their religion, in attendance. Those 
who followed, were unattended by any of this pomp or 
parade which, they believed, would soften the pangs of 
dissolution. A black flag was raised, and a death 
march was played, while this mournful procession was 
passing, painfully and slowly to the scene of execution, 
outside of the walls of the castle, and immediately 
adjoining them. 

A fellow prisoner, M. Smith, has given a descriptloji 
of this inhuman scene, and as there can be but one story 
to tell of it, I will here use his words, vouching for their 
correctness : — In the gallows there was a division, and 
two separate ladders or stairs, for the purpose of keep- 
ing the Catholics distinct from the rest, and absolution 
was given them by their priests. The place of execu- 
tion was commanded by tlie guns of the ramparts 
immediatLJy above us, where three companies of okr 
Spanish troops were stationed. In the rear of them, 
several companies of the native militia ; beyond tiiem 
were the artiller^^, and on the shore next the town of 
Porto Cavallo, which is divided from the castle and its 
precints, by an inlet, there appeared a numerous body of 
Cavalry. 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 53 

Whether this was done through empty parade, or 
from fear of a movement by the inhabitants in our 
favour, or to shew to the disaffected an example of 
severity, I know not. It was certainly more than the 
occasion seemed naturally to require. 

We were placed immediately opposite to the gallows, 
facmg our unfortunate comrades. The first executed, 
was Mr. Farquarson. His irons were knocked off, and 
he was taken or led to the top of the scaffold, and there 
for a short time, permitted to seat himself in front of his 
companions below. Two ropes were fixed about his 
neck, a small one for the purpose of breaking the neck, 
and the larger one to suspend the body. This accom- 
plished, he arose, and with a. clear firm voice bade us an 
everlasting farewell. The hangman, a negro slave, 
then shoved him off, and sliding down the rope, seated 
himself upon his shoulders, kicked violently upon his 
breast with his heels, until assured that he was dead ; 
when he jumped down, and dragged the body to one 
end of the beam to make room for those who were to 
follow. Messrs. Billup, Hall, Johnson, Ferris, Kemper, 
and Berguad, were executed in the same manner, and 
all met death with the same composure. Mr. Berguad 
was a Pole. After the ropes were adjusted to his neck, 
he turned to us with a mild and affectionate look, and 
pointing to a pile of colours, cannon, and other trophies 
which had been taken from the schooners, and which 
were placed in our view, in derision, he exclaimed, 
" Have courage my comrades ; do not despair of living 
to wreak your vengeance upon these blood-hounds; 



34 Incidents in the 

Miranda will yet free you from your fetters 5 theui 
avenge my death." He then sprang from the scaffold, 
and immediately expired. 

It now came to be the turn of the Roman Catholics 
to die. The priests, by whom they were attended, 
administered to them the sacrament, and accompanied 
each of them to the top of the steps, or ladder. They 
were hung upon that division of the gallows set apart 
for them, to distinguish them from heretics. 

James Gardner, was the first to suffer. He ascended 
the ladder with a firm step, took a last leave of his 
companions, and wishing them a better fate, /as 
launched from time into an untried eternity. 

Thomas Donahue next ascended the fatal steps, and 
as soon as the priest had performed for him the last sa 
offices of his religion, and had left him, he pointed witi 
indignation at the Spaniards in front of him, and 
exclaimed, " Blood hounds ! the day is not far distant , 
when a sore retribution will visit you for this days work. 
Remember, then, that I said so." 

Paul T. George was the son of a wealthy Portu- 
guese. He had left his home without consulting his 
parents, and wandered about widioui any plan for the 
future, or means of present subsistence. Finding him- 
self in New- York, with neither friends nor money, he 
was ready to engage in any enterprise in which he could 
hope for wealth or fame, and was greedily seized at by 
the planners of this expedition, as a tool to work witli, 
their deep and desperate plans. 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 35 

Neither the pains of imprisonment, famine and dis- 
ease, nor the courageous example of those who had 
gone before, could make him bear the idea of death. \ 
It was, indeed, melancholy to see one so young, pos- 
sessed of so much beauty, and formed by nature for 
better things, so early cut from the earth, and sent away 
to that country, from which there is no return, and 
whose boundaries are unknown. Whether the recollec- 
tions of home, or of some crime committed, haunted 
his breast, I know not, but he fainted and fell at the 
foot of the gallows, and in this state of insensibility was 
he tf'ken up and thrown off, and in this state he died. 
Thi o ended this act of the tragedy. 

xhe executioner now, by means of a hatchet, cut the 
bodies down, and so great was the height from which 

3y fell, that they were literally smashed ; their bones 
;otruding through^the skins, where they had been bro- 
iien off, or splintered. Some of the bodies rebounded 
from the earth like a foot-ball. They were now taken, 
and laid across a log, when the negro hacked off their 
heads with a cleaver, and held them up to view ; but 
they could not be recognized, so much had they been 
mangled by this savage manner of execution. 

We had been here from six o'clock in tiie morninsr, 
until about two, when we were led back to our prison, 
to anticipate our own fate, and to think over the scene 
- which had been acted, preparatory to our embarkation, 
for our respective destinations on board the merchant 
vessel " the Prince of Peace ! .'" 

Permission was now given Co write letters home, to 



36 INCIDENTS IN THE 

those who could write, but as I could not avail myself 
of this privilege, my friends were left ignorant of my 
fate. Although to those who did write, the permission | 
was of no great consequence, as their letters were care- I 
fully examined by our keepers, and I venture to say that 
of about forty letters written, not over three ever 
arrived at their destination. 

Ten days after the execution we went on board the 
Prince of Peace, bound to Carthagena. While upon 
this voyage, we were permitted to walk, two or three at 
a time, vipon deck. A plan was concerted here to make 
our escape. We had procured the means of freeing 
ourselves from our fetters, and were, upon a signal 
agreed on, to throw them off, seize the vessel, and con- 
fine the officers and crew, and stear for the nearest 
port. We were favoured in this project, by observing 
that the soldiers who were on g-iard, spent their time 
principally in smoking and sleeping. But our evil for- 
tune could not so easily be shaken off, and a short time 
before we were to consummate our plan, we were sus- 
pected by the ships officers. We were now more strictly 
guarded, although, as before, we were allowed to walk 
on deck singly. We w^ere now wrought up to despera- 
tion, as the following plan, which we concerted, will con- 
clusively shew. It Avas that the one whose turn it should 
be to walk on deck, should, at the first favourable oppor- 
tunity jdirow a lighted segar into the magazine,and thus, 
at least, have the satisfaction of burying our persecu- 
tors in the same wreck with ourselves. This plan 
would have been carried into execution, had it not been 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL 37 

for the cowardice of Robert Sanders, who informed 
our guard of our concerted measures, so that the last 
desperate hope of deliverance, even in death, was 
denied us. 



D 



38 INCIDENTS IN THE 



CHAPTER V. 

Our voyage presented nothing worth mentioning;. 
and we arrived at Carthagena on the 17th of August. 
I had no great opportunity to notice the place, but from 
the hasty glance which I was permitted to take of it. 
while entering the harbour, and while being marched 
in chains, through its streets, I should pronounce it an 
elegant city. The rn-eets are wide, and well paved. 
The houses are built of stone or brick, and altljough 
they are generally low, yet they have a loftier appear- 
ance, from being surmounted by splendid balconies. 

I do not think that there was any thing to choose 
between the prison into which we were thrown at Car- 
thagena, and that of Saint Philips, at Porto Cavallo ; if 
there was, the choice would be in favour of St. Philips. 

The company at this place, was very much upon the 
Fanny Wright, or levelling system. Thieves, Robbers. 
Pirates, run away slaves, and honest men, (if any could 
be found,) enjoyed equal rights, privileges, and immu- 
nities. 

We were invited to join in any project, which these 
monsters were depraved enough to conceive, and it was 
not safe to abruptly refuse them. This was company 
with vi hichi had heretofore been unacquainted,and which 
I have since, sedulously endeavoured to shun. At 
abDut 9 o'clock in the evening, v/e were adrngnished of, 
the time to retire, by a set of ferocious looking, huge 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 39 

whiskered fellows, who came to our cells, and by hard 
words, hard looks, and long knives, put us to sleep in 
a, way not calculated to produce pleasant dreams. 

Those who were sentenced to work at Bocca Chica, 
commenced their labours in the city of Carthagena, it 
being believed more to the advantage of government, 
than to send them to their place of destination, which 
was about ten miles from the city. 

We remained in this dungeon until the death of Wil- 
liam Burnside drew the attention of the officers of the 
' prison, to our wretched situation, and a few convenien- 
ces were afforded us. 

A gentleman, named Sandford, who'was from Massa- 
chusetts, came to us, and enquired whether we thought 
it possible for us to escp.pe, if he should furnish the 
means. After a short consultation, we answered, that 
with a vial of aqua-fortis, we believed we might eat off 
the gratings of our windows, and free ourselves from 
our chains, and escape. He promised to send it to us, 
and advised us that it would be concealed in a piece of 
pork, which he had obtained leave to present us. Ac- 
cordingly, the next day, the pork arrived at the prison 
doors, was closely inspected, and then passed in, to us. 
We lost no time in dissecting it, and soon found the vial, 
which we carefully hid, until we could safely com- 
mence a trial of its virtues. Hope beat high in every 
breast, and already in my visions, could I see the dark 
avails of my prison, fading away in the distance, and 
the shores of my native land, smiling in their greenest 



40 INCIDENTS IN TUE 

verdure, to welcome the wretched and weary wanderer 
to his home. But disappointment, always followed 
close upon the track of Hope, The liquid was tested, 
and the strength had evaporated, and with it, dissolved 
my dreams of Liberty. Those prisoners who were put 
to work in the city, suffered extremely, from being over- 
worked, and severely beaten. I have seen them pass 
the door of the prison in which we were confined, faint- 
ing and lagging, with nothing but a rag to cover their 
nakedness, their backs covered with ridges as large as a 
pipe stem, with a negro driver behind them, urging them 
on, with whips and execrations. They were no longer 
confined by bolts on the legs, as they had been, and as 
we still remained ; but in the place of these, they had 
iron clasps around their ancles with staples, and were 
by means of them coupled together, two and two, by an 
ox-chain, and were put to labour, with every criminal, 
convicted of the most wicked or heinous offences. 
They were sometimes employed in digging, and again 
in carrying heavy loads of sand and stone for the pur- 
pose of building the fortifications, to each of which loads 
was added the weight of their chains, as they were una- 
ble to drag them after them, and which were laid 
upon their hand-barrows. This was to us an unpleasant 
sight, as we could only view it as a specimen of what we 
might expect, when we should arrive at our respective 
destinations. 

There was not however, among them so great mor- 
tality as with us, not one of them dying during our stay 
at Carthagena, whereas we lost five in that time. 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 41 

The death of Burnside, before mentioned, and the 
sickness which prevailed among us, induced oar over- 
seers or keepers to remove us to the Hospital. Our 
change of situation was by no means enviable, as we 
were in the constant fear of assassination by the 
Spaniards. 

We were literally covered with lice ; indeed nothing 
could excel the filthiness of this place. Diseases of 
which we had never heard the name, were common, and 
vermin of species hitherto unknown to us, abounded. 

A short time after our removal to this place, John 
Burk died, in the most cruel agonies. He had prayed 
earnestly for death, and it came to him, a friend, in the 
absence of all other friends on earth. His body was 
carried to the hospital yard, and thrown naked on the 
p;round, for the purpose of being examined by the sur- 
geons, the next morning. It was here, the butt of all 
the brutal jests, and bitter tauntings, that could be 
heaped upon it. 

This was some advantage to us, as we were the 
property of oor oppressors, and although they might 
torture and insult us, vet it was not for their interest for 
us to die. This was the hospital of slaves, and in it 
were crowded all sizes and hues. We were dai]y 
threatened with being stabbed, and one of our niimber, 
named Stephen Burtis, upon being attacked, only 
escaped, by closing with the Spaniard, and drawing bis 
knife so rapidly and forcibly out of his band, as to 
nearly sever his fingers from it. 



42 



INCIDENTS IN THE 



Having already stated that I had no knowledge of 
the art of writing, I shall again have to acknowledge 
myself indebted to Mr. Smith's narrative for many 
facts, which would probably have escaped my memory ; 
and should my readers discover a coincidence, they will 
recollect that we were fellow-sufferers, and that, of 
course, there can be but little difference in our state- 
ments. As I shall shortly have to part company with 
him, I may be excused for having taken the liberty of 
bringing in his narrative to my assistance. 



1 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 43 



CHAPTER VI. 

The prevailing diseases in tbis place, during the 
sickly season, August, September and October, are 
agues, fluxes, dropsies and black vomit, and so preva- 
lent are they, that five hundred deaths have taken place 
in one season at Carthagena, out of a single hospital ! 
The natives are much more subject to them, than stran- 
gers, and they are also more fatal to them. Our situa- 
tion was rather more comfortable in the hospital, than 
in the prison, as in the latter place, the ground was our 
bed, and a stone supplied the place of a pillow," but in 
the hospital we were allowed a grass mattress to lie on. 
In one place, however, as in the other, the irons were 
kept on, until death, in some cases, came to set the cap- 
tive free. They were then taken off and preserved for 
the use of some poor successor. The bodies of those 
who died, were buried at low water mark. But enough 
of this Hosj}itaL 

After being perhaps half cured, we were sent back to 
our prison, and as the reader already knows how we 
lodged, it may be well to tell him also, of wliat our 
food was composed, and the manner of serving it to us. 
Twice a day, a large kidd, or shallow wooden trough, 
was brought in, filled with most execrable soup, and 
placed upon the ground. Then to each of us, was 
given a small piece of sun-dried beef, the smell of which 
was a meal of itself, to us, at first, but we soon got used 



44 INCIDENTS IN THE 

to it, as it was Hopsoii's choice ; this is nothing. These 
dainties we received through the hands of a negro 
waiter. We were not allowed table, chair, plate, ^ 
trencher, knife, fork, nor spoon, but were under the 1 
necessity of using our fingers, which history tells us | 
were made before forks. " Necessity is the mother of 
invention," and if in our case, there was no issue, the 
adage must have been false, as we were indeed needy. 
We managed to carve out of the shells of calabashes a 
bowl and spoon, and one or two knives had been con- , 
cealed beneath the ground, and although often searched • 
for, yet we still kept them. It will, perhaps, be 
scarcely believed, when I say that the natives them- 
selves, (at least those whom we saw) lived no better than 
we did, and what right had we then to complain ? We a 
often saw^ them eat, around a kidd, and pass the spoon ™ 
from one to the other, with a strict regard to impartial 
distribution. 

Our legs suffered much from the galling of our fetters, 
and very often, our feet would be covered with blood, 
which streamed from our ancles. Pretty soon, how- 
ever, we become so emaciated, and our legs so wasted, 
we could draw the devices up to our knees, and in this 
way we carried them about, by means of cords, which 
we tied to the irons, and to our necks. These devices 
and bolts, weighed twenty-five pounds. By getting 
them so much farther from our ieet, we managed to 
step a considerable distance, by swinging our bodies 
around, and making a sweeping step. Let it not be be- 
lieved that we never saw humane people, or experienced 



411 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSELL. 45 

kind acts among these natives. By looking through 
the grates of our dungeon, we could see numbers of 
alligators, crawling around the walls of our prison, 
and when I have caught the eye of one of them, it has 
seemed to me, to be bent on me, with pity and commis- 
seration, and compared with the demoniac looks of our 
oppressors, they seemed visitants of mercy. We some- 
times, in passing from our prison to the hospital, recei- 
ved little acts of kindness from the more respectable of 
the inhabitants. Very often have small pieces of coin 
been slipped into my hand, and the donor would walk 
hurriedly on, for fear of being observed by the guard, 
as if it were a crime to bestow upon us any assistance. 
The soldiers who composed our guard, were some of 
them friendly towards us, procuring work for us, at 
making straw hats, and pricking patterns for needle 
work, although they were ordered to driv^ those who 
would have befriended us from the doors. 

The persons under whose immediate charge we were, 
was an old military sergeant, named Don Pableau, a 
native of Spain. Ninepence sterling per day was allow- 
ed by the governor for our support ; of this he received 
sixpence a day for our two meals, and for the balance 
he furnished us an extra meal of corn and molasses, 
called Bayeau, This was to us a great delicacy. It 
was something like, what we call Samp, being Indian 
corn broken between two stones. If we chose to taketbe 
balance in money, we could have had it, but they con- 
trived to make the two regular meals so detestable, that 
we were glad to get the extra. By plaiting straw hats. 



46 INCIDENTS IN THE 

8ic., we\soon earned enough to procure us many arti- 
cles of necessity, and which conduced much to our 
comfort and cleanhness. The soldiers sold the work 
for us, and procured material, most generally, with 
punctuality, and in good faith. Captain Sanford also 
sent his boy to us with materials, and sold our work. 
But all these acts of kindness, could not obliterate 
from our minds, the sense that we were still prisoners, 
that w^e had been sentenced to a long term of chains and 
labor, and that we were far away from home, and the 1 
hearths of our fathers, and that there was but one 
chance to thousands, that we should ever again visit 
them. It had been a long time since I had left my 
fathers' house, and I longed to return and tell my sor- 
rows to an ear that could pity and relieve them, but I 
could not like the prodigal son, say, "1 will arise, and 
go unto my father." 



1 



•^.■y 



II 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 47 



CHAPTER VII. 

We had now been seven months imprisoned, from the 
time we were captured, and had had no opportunity of 
informing our friends and the government, of our situa- 
tion, or of asking their interference to ameliorate our 
condition, or free us from our chains. 

Captain Barker of New York had been shipwrecked 
in the South Sea, and had arrived at Carthagena, touch- 
ing at Panama. He heard of our situation, and visited 
us in prison. Of a tender and benevolent disposition, 
he wept like a child, at the bare sight of our miseries. 
He had been wrecked, and had but little to bestow, but 
of that litde he gave liberally. He obtained permission 
from the Governor to visit us daily^ and also, that we 
should be allowed to communicate our situation to our 
friends in the United States, and should be alloAved to 
receive whatever supplies they m.ight send to us. We 
therefore drafted a memorial to Congress, which Cap- 
tain Barker undertook to present to that body, immedi- 
ately upon his arrival at home. As this document may 
not be uninteresting, 1 here give a copy of it as fol- 
lows : — 

" Memorial of twent3; citizens of the United States of 
America, confined under sentence of slavery in the do- 
minions of his Most Catholick Majesty the King of 
Spain, to the President, Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives. Shews that we, your memorialists, are 



48 INCIDENTS IN THE 

natives of the United States of America, and for the 
most part of the city of New York, and are a part of a 
number of men, of the same description, who were 
brought from New York, in February last, in the ship 
Leander, Thomas Lewis, Master, under circumstances 
of treachery and imposition, which your memorialists 
will proceed to explain. Samuel G. Ogden has been 
known, for some time, asthe owner of tlie ship Leander, 
which vessel had been, by him, for some time, employed 
in a forced trade, for which purpose she had been heavi- 
ly armed : consequently, there was less danger of her 
warlike equipments awakening suspicion, on the part of 
the public, or in the breasts of your memorialists, of 
an illegal undertaking. Of the whole number of your 
memorialists, some were attached to the vessel, some 
were employed for military services, and others for the 
exercises of their ordinary occupations and trades. 
Those of the first description, were shipped in the usual 
manner, on a voyage to Jacquemel and back to New 
York ; the rest were engaged by Col. William Smith, 
Mr. John Fink, Col. William Armstrong, and Mr. 
Daniel R. Burning to proceed to New Orleans and 
other places not mentioned, under the command of Mr. 
Armstrong and Mr. Darning ; who, as was falsely and 
shamefully asserted, had been appointed by government, 
to carry thither, a certain number of men as a guard to 
the United States mail. Under this and other specious 
assurances, vour memorialists embarked at Staten Isl- 
and, and were carried immediately to sea. Shortly 
after leaving the port, it was discovered that General 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. Ad 

Miranda was on board, together with a number of 
other persons not before known to your memorialists, 
who appeared in the characters of officers, attached to 
his person. The ship proceeded on her V03 age, until 
oiTBermuda, where she was examined by his Brittanic 
Majesty's frigate Cleopatra, Captain White, and not- 
Avithstanding the discovery that she was loaded with 
arms, and warlike stores, was permitted to proceed, 
and arrived at Jacquemel about the middle of February, 
where she remained until late in the month of March 
following,^ During this interval, much discontent was 
occasioned among your memorialists, in as much as 
they now found themselves in a country, whither they 
had not undertaken to go, and prevented by force from 
returning 5 experience in military duty, under the most 
arbitrary power, on the part of General Miranda, Cok 
Armstrong, and Mr. Durning ; prevented from writing 
-to their friends in the United States, and kept in igno- 
rance, as to the ultimate object of the expedition. Some 
of your memorialists attempted an escape to Port-au- 
Prince, or some other part of St. Domingo, but were 
prevented by the diligence of Miranda's officers. In 
Jacquemel, the schooners, Bee, and Bachus, were em- 
ployed to accompany the ship in her voyage. On 
board these vessels, your memorialists were obliged to 
embark, and left St. Domingo, on the 27th of March. 
After having touched at the island of Aruba, for re- 
freshments, the three vessels proceeded towards the 
roast of Terra-firma, between Laguira and Porto Ca- 
vallo, where they arrived on the 27th of April, when the 



50 INCIDENTS IN THE 

scliooners in which your memorialists were embarked, 
being deserted by the Leander, were captured' by two 
Spanish cruisers, and carried into^Porto Cavallo, where 
they were all proceeded against, under charge of piracy, 
&c. On the 13th of July, this process was closed by 
the Captain General of Caraccas, and ten, (who were 
considered to have been wilfully engaged,) were con- 
demned to death : nineteen, to eight years slavery at 
Bocca Chica ; fourteen, to ten years slavery at Porto 
Rico ; and fourteen to ten years slavery at Omoah, in 
the province of Mexico. The ten who received the 
sentence of death, were hanged and beheaded on the 
21st of July. Your memorialists, together with their 
companions, sentenced to Bocca Chica, with others, 
w^ho are prevented by sickness from joining in this^ 
memorial, were soon after removed to this place, where 
they have been about three montjis. 

Your memorialists are in close confinement, and in 
irons, and will remain so until the}' are removed to their 
respective stations, at Omoah and Porto Rico. Your 
memorialists predicate their right to claim the interfe- 
rence of government in their behalf, upon the origmal 
innocence of their intentions, and the veracity of the 
statement they have offered. To establish these to your 
satisfaction, they beg leave to refer to the following 
persons, who are informed of the intrigues, made use 
of by Colonel Smith and others, his colleagues, to wit: 
Mr. Daniel Kemper, whose son w as executed ; Colonel 
Marinus Willet ; Mr. Brinkenhoff, tavern keeper, <Vil- 
liam Rutledge, ship joiner, Samuel Winship, and Fran- 



LIFE OF JOHN ED5ALL. 51 

CIS White, Butchers, all of New-York. If it shall 
appear by the testimony of these persons, that the ac- 
count of your memorialists shall be worthy of credit, 
that they have been betrayed and entrapped by the cun- 
ning engines of specious, needy and designing men, 
who stili remain within the reach of the law, in a situa- 
tion to be made responsible in their persons ; then; the 
innocence of your memorialists, they trust, will be 
equally manifest, and they will still be considered by 
the constituted authorities of their country, entitled to 
its protection and support. And your memorialists 

shall ever pray, &c. 

Dated in prison, at Carthagena, ) 
December 30, 1806. , > 

Signed by twenty of the Prisoners. 

The foregoing memorial was given to Captain Bar- 
ker, who promised us that it should be faithfully de- 
livered to Congress. Soon after this, he bid us fare- 
well, and embarked for New-York, leaving among us 
many grateful hearts. 

No one of us knew, at the time this memorial was 
written, that Messrs. Smith and Ogden had been arrest- 
ed, by the direction of government, and that they, and 
their counsel, and a strong party, had striven to retort 
the charge upon the Government. We did not know 
that Mr. Jefferson had been vilely and maliciously 
abused, and branded as having been in the secret of the 
expedition, and as having abetted and aided it ; neither 
did any of us know that the notorious John Fink, had 
appeared as evidence, against Colonel Smith, for the 



*52 INCIDENTS IN THB 



purpose of throwing the blame upon him, and thereby 
to slip his own neck out of the noose. 

The government could not aid us. To do so, would 
have been tacitly acknowledging tlieir participation in 
tlie expedition, and as they could not, they were basely 
accused of treachery towards us by a parly more base 
than Miranda's, as they sought to overturn their own 
government, whereas, he might have been patriotic, in 
his views in relation to the people of South America. 

Captain Barker, upon his arrival at New-York, for- 
warded our memorial, according to promise, to Con- 
gress, together with a statement of our miserable situa- 
tion, at Carthagena. He also informed our friends, 
that we had permission from the Governor of that place. 
to receive such necessaries, as they might see fit to for- 
ward us. At a meeting in New- York, at which a great 
number oi respectable citizens, and where some of the 
disaffected also were, ready to vilify Mr. Jefferson and 
his cabinet, a collection of some hundred dollars was 
raised to be distributed among us. Clothing was also 
contributed for our use, and a number of individual 
remittances made from the relatives of particular pris- 
oners. These were committed to the care of Captain 
Carson, of die Ship Four Sisters, whc sailed from New- 
York, a few months after Captain Barker's arrival 
there, and who reached Carthagena in July, i8Q8. 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. -^-^ 



CHAPTER Vill. 



% 



We had now been imprisoned, in Porto Ciivallo, and 
Cardiagena together, about a year, and had given up 
nearly all hope of being liberated. The choice be- 
tween death, and living to be the beasts of burthen, of 
the vilest of the human race, was all that was lelt us, 
and the former alternative appeared the best. Things 
were in this state, when Captain Carson arrived witli 
the supplies, mentioned as having been sent by him from 
New- York. These revived our drooping spirits, and 
we began to think that we had still fi'iends who cared 
for us, though perhaps we were never to meet them in 
life, yet the thought was soothing to our hearts, th^i in 
our labours, or our sickness, Ave were pitied by those 
wiio could do no more than bestow their pity. Cap- 
tain Carson enquired of us whether he could do aiiy 
thing for us, by which we could be likely to break out 
of the prison. We told him that with the means which 
we had received from New-York, we believed that we 
might make our escape, if he thought it prudent, to 
wait his vessel for us. He replied that he would stay as 
long as he dare, without awakening suspicion of his ob- 
ject,- in the authorities of the place. 

About this time, a cat unfortunately strayed into our 
prison. Our feelings of compassion, were overcome by 
the cravings of hunger, and we concluded to kill and 
cook her. We were willing to go through the forms of 

E* 



54 INCIDENTS IN THE 

justice, and therefore proceeded to ballot whether she 
should be eaten, or set at liberty. The result was a 
large majority, (indeed, I may say, an unanimous vote,) 
in favour of hunger, and Grimalkin was slain, cooked, 
and eaten. 

I have killed many fat oxen, since that time, and in 
better days, have eaten many tid-bits, but never one 
which possessed so great relish, as the flesh of poor puss. 

We engaged an old Spanish soldier, for a trifling 
sum, to procure us a key which would fit the lock on ^ 
the door of our dungeon, but we were soon suspected of 
having this key, and were much more strictly guarded 
than before, so that we were obliged to abandon this 
method of escape, and formed a plan for penetrating the 
wall of our dungeon, which was about ten feet thick. 

This wall was a part of the rampart of the city. 
There were in it, narrow loop-holes, or slits, about four 
or five inches wide on the inside, and converging to a 
width of, from two to three inches on the outside. Thev 
were about two feet from the floor of the prison, and 
about ten feet above the surface of the swamp without. 
I do not know what these holes were originally intended 
for, but at present, they answered the purpose of drain- 
ing off the water, which, in heavy rains, ran into our 
dungeons. 

One of our number, being a shoemaker, and being 
permitted to work at his trade, we procured from liim 
a hammer and knife, a part of his tools, and with these, 
we commenced an undertaking, which will look, to the 
reader like the height of folly. 



<♦ 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 55 

In the prison with us, were a number who had been 
taken in smuggling in the South Sea, and who had lately . 
been confined with us. Their case was not, like ours, 
hopeless, and they did not wish to expose themselves to 
greater danger, by endeavouring to break prison, yet, 
as they were our countrymen, they kept our secret, and 
ran the risk of punishment themselves, should we be 
discovered. At the gate, a sentinel was placed, vvith 
orders to keep a strict watch of our movements, and 
the turnkeys were hourly passing and repassing through 
our prison. A lamp was kept burning through the 
night, that our keepers might have a constant watch 
upon us, and our irons were searched very frequently ; 
yet with all these disadvantages, we resolved to escape 
from our prison. 

A man named John T. O'Sullivan, believing more in 
his own courage, than in oar scheme, made his escape 
in the following manner : He liad been sick, and was 
sent to the Hospital, where by means of money and good 
management, he contrived to procure a bolt similar to 
the one in the device around his ancle, witli a head or 
nut, which could be screwed and unscrewed at pleasure. 
He then by means of an old knife hacked mto a saw, 
severed the old bolt, and replaced it with the new one. 
Thus prepared, and with a determination to free himself 
or die in the attempt, he sent to us his last farewell, 
accompanied with six dollars, which he called a legacy,. 
with which he requested us to drink to his memory, 
should he perish. One evening, as he sat at the door of 
the hospital, the sentinel walking careless to and fro, 



56 INCIDENTS IN THE 

before bim, he suddenly slipped off his irons, and running 
across ibe hospital yard, knocked down the two senti- 
nels who were at the outside gate, and escaped into the 
open plain outside of the city. Pursuit was in vain. 
After a number of windings and turnings, he eluded his 
pursuers, and in a day or two, was safe on board an 
English vessel, and on his way home. 

Three of the prisoners, who were at work in the city, 
encouraged by the example, effected an escape for a 
short time. They were at work in the foundations of 
an old ruined castle, and remained hid in a vault under 
the ground. At the evening muster, they were not mis- 
sed, and the rest of the gang were driven back without 
them. They fied to the mountains, and not knowing 
any thine: of the country, they wandered about, until 
hunger induced them to eat some wild berries which 
were poisonous, and they were seized with sickness and 
vomiting, and swelled so that it was difficult for them to 
see. One of them groped his way to a house to get 
some water, and while carrying it to his companions, 
was discovered. They v>^ere retaken, sent to the Hospi- 
tal, and when able to work, their tasks and their blows 
wei'e redoubled. 

Mr. Powell, was also liberated, through the interest 
and intercession of his father, just as we began our 

work. 

From the holes before mentioned, we could take an 
observation of the surrounding country. Next to this, 
was a narrow strip of ground covered with stunted 
bushes, and brambles, and next to this was the beach of 



I 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 57 

the sea. This whole side of our prison was entirely un- 
frequented, and this solitude was highly favourable to 
our undertaking. 

Our greatest labour was during the first part of the 
night ; for at eleven o'clock we were ordered to lie 
down, and during the day time, we dared not expose the 
breach to view, but kept it masked by a hammock, with 
some cloths thrown loosely over it. We used to walk, 
under pretence of exercise, during the early part of the 
evening, which the heat of the day did not so well per- 
mit, and our irons, which had been our great annoyance, 
now became serviceable to us, as by clinking them as 
much as we dare, we could drown the noise of the ham- 
mer against the stones. We had, with the money which 
Captain Carson brought us, bought a violin, a fife and 
a flute, and with these, although we did not make the 
most exquisite music, we contrived to make a very con- 
siderable deal of noise. Our Jailor kept a kind of 
tavern, and while our money held out, we contrived by 
making purchases of liquor, fruit and segars, to keep 
him good natured, and have license for our uproarious 
conduct. 

This kind of noise and cheerfulness, induced our 
keepers to believe that we iiad received assurances of 
pardon or ransom, or that we had become reconciled 
to our situation, and they began to relax their vigilance. 
We were not so closely watched as usual, and to this 
we owed the final accomplishment of our task. 

Each night we added a little to the breach, and after 
we were ordered to stop our noise, and go to rest, we 



5S INCIDENTS IN THE 

silently worked in replacing the rubbish, and smoothing 
over the whole with limcj which we procured for the 
purpose of washing our clothes, and as a preservative 
from disease ; for plaistering with this linfe, we used a 
shingle in the absence of a trowel. Sometimes we met 
with a soft place, and made rapid advances in our work, 
and again, a hard, flinty stone would retard the pro- 
gress, and drive us almost to despair. Sickness would 
also seize upon some of us, and our places supplied by 
others, who, in their turn falling sick, the work would 
remain stationary?. The farther we advanced, the more 
laborious was the task, owing to the weight of our 
chains, and from being obliged to crawl into the wall, 
and to lie upon our sides in a very distressing posture, 
and also from the length of time necessary to fill up the 
hole, and to smooth and face over the wall. Yet so 
nicely was this done, that the corporal who came with 
those who brouirht our food or water, often looked 
through the opening, without perceiving that any thing 
iKid been doing. As we came nearer to the outside of 
the wall, our work seemed lighter, and hope once 
more held out to us the prospect of a speedy deliverance. 
It now became necessary to turn our attention to 
getting rid of our chains. We might easily have cut 
through the key that confined the bolts in the device, 
but as this part was particularly inspected by our guard, 
we considered it tlie most hazardous, and we therefore, 
with a hacked knife blade, proceeded to saw through 
the centre of our bolts, until we so nearly severed them, 
that we could bend them with our hands, and in that 



I 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 59 

manner, in a short time, break them out of the device, 
and free ourselves, whenever we should have so far pene- 
trated the wall, as to be ready to make our egress from 
this filthy den. The marks made by sawing,we disguised 
I with wax, and covered them with the cords by which we 
suspended our irons to our necks. After a labour of 
nearly four months, we effected an opening, and on the 
7lh of November 1807, we proceeded to cast lots, as to 
the order in which we should go out. I fortunately 
drew the fifth number — (I say fortunately, for had I 
been the last one, I should never have got through ; as 
it was, I was literally driven through by those who fol- 
lowed.) After being poked through, in this way, the 
rough points of the stones, carrying away my clothes 
and skin, (I had no flesh of consequence to lose,) I fell 
down ten feet into the filth and mud, with which this 
swamp was filled. 

All were safely landed in the quag-mire* in a few 
minutes, excepting Robert Sanders, and Baley B. Ne- 
gus, who believed themselves too large to get through 
the opening, and therefore remained in prison, although 
neither of them were any larger than myself. So im- 
patient had we been to get out, that we had not waited 
for tiie moon to go down, but she was so far towards th^ 
west, that a broad shadow was cast by the wall, in which 
we could walk unobserved. We could distinctly hear 
tlie tread of the sentinels above us, and see their shadr 
ows cast long upon the ground, as they paced their sol- 
itary rounds, humming some tune, which had probably 
been learned on their native hill side, and which perhaps 



60 INCIDENTS IN THE 

reminded them of their more innocent days, before they 
were acquainted with arms, or had learned to see with 
cold indifference, the hmnan form manacled, and adorned 
with chains. As soon as we could do so with safety, 
we struck into the country. We left at this place, 
Moses Smith, who had but a short time before, left the 
hospital, and who was now too weak to accompany us. 
When I left him, I did not suppose he would live a day. 
He has however, survived, and is probably still living, 
and to his narrative, I am indebted, for many of the 
dates and little transactions, which would probably 
have escaped my recollection. 






LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 61 



CHAPTER IX. 

We travelled about ten miles, very painfully. We 
had not yet learned how to use our legs, and we 
^* marched wide, as though we had gyves on." We 
now tame to a narrow river, which we contrived to 
swIm}, and found ourselves upon an island appf r^^ntly 
inhabited. We subisisted scantily upon surh wild 
game, and other little articles, as we could catch or 
steal, until hunger drove us, to setid oneof our number, 
SJattliew Buchanan, to treat with some fishermen, who 
we daily saw at their einployment, wirile we were con- 
cealed among the bushes and stunted trees whirh 
covered t!ie island. He staid some time, engaged in 
conversation, and upon his return, he informed us that 
one of them had agreed to give us an assylum at his 
house, until he could get an opportunity to convey us 
on board an American vessel, then h ing in the liarbor, 
from Baltimore, and which we had been advised to go 
on board of, by Captain Sanford, while we were iit 
prison. We were shortly after, visited by the fisherman, 
who repeated what Buchanan had told us, and promised 
not to betray us into the hands of our late masters. 
Vve were then invited, and proceeded to his house, or 
Shantee, where he prepared for us a supper of fish, of 
which vve ate heartily, a long abstinence, and the pro^ 
pect of soon being out of the reach of dginger> sharpen^ 
ing our appetites wonderfully. 



62 INCIDENTS IN THE 

»' 

He then started for Cartliageiia, to dispose of his fish, 
as he said, and as we afterwards learned to our sorrow, 
to dispose of us also. A reward of Ten Dollars per 
liead had been oflered for our apprehension and return 
to r^arthagena. The small amount of the sum (^fit-red, 
^vas an evidence that the city authorities did not care a 
great deal, whether we were caught or not ; yet this 
perfidious scoimdrel had informed of us, and had agreed 
to deliver us up. About twelve o'clock at night, he 
arrived at the t^hantee, and remarking that he had made 
a good sale of his fish, informed us that hv was now 
ready to proceed to the harViour with us. We accor- 
dingly emb irked, after giving hini all our money, (about 
fifteen dollars.) and all the c]:.thing, which we could 
spare, whicli was not much, n'^ in our hurry to escape 
from prison, we had not mucli tiine to make up an ex- > , 
tensive wardrobe. 

We sailed rapidly down the stream, until we came 
near to one of the bridges in the suburbs of Carthagena, 
when we were ordered to lie down llat in the bottom of 
the boat, whicii was half full of dirty water. As we 
passed under the bridge, we heard the hail of the senti- 
nel, which was answered by our conductor. We did 
not kiiow at this time, that diis hail and reply, was a 
signal that we were on board the boat, to a party of 
soldiers, uho were some distance below the bridge. 
We passed down the river a few rods, when the old 
scoundrel ran his boat on tlie shore, and we found our- 
selves in the hands of about a hundred soldiers, i had 
been before diat time, and I have been since, sadly dis-' 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 6Cj 

appointed, but never do I recollect that the reverse of 
fortune affected ine so much, as at this tiiise. We had 
given money to the natives, to execute litrle commission^: 
for us, while in prison, and we always had met with the 
strictest integrity an)ong them, in the performance of 
any contract. Now, we had given our all to this ol I 
villain, and we found ourselves on the road to ouf old 
duniz;eons. VVdat would be our fate, 1 knew not, bur 
despair had taken complete possession of me,. and I 
oared little what became of me. We were tied, and 
■driven back to the city, and thrown into the same dun-" 
geon from wliicSi we had escaped. In the \u rning wc 
were taken and examined, for the purpose of ascertain- 
ing what had become of Messrs. Sherman, LippincoK 
and Smith, who were still missing. We could give no 
accoiuit of the two former, but told them that Mose^ 
Smith was most probably dead in the swamp, where 
we had left him, unable to accompany us. A guard was 
despatched to search, but returned without success, and 
we now, for the first time, began to Ix pe that he iiad 
escaped. VVe were then heavily ironed, and put iii the 
stocks. In tills situation I remained, my f-ei two feet 
above the floor, for thirty-five days. There was but 
one posture in which I could place myself, and that waJ^ 
to lie flat on my back. During this time, 1 was no( 
once unlocked, being propped up, whenever I ate, or 
drank, or when it became necessary to sit up for anv 
other purpose. At last, 1 was so unwell, that 1 was ta- 
ken out of limbo, and sent to the Hospital, and be'um 
now right side up. 1 soon recovered. When 1 returned 



64 INCIDENTS IN THE 

to the prison, the feet of tlje rest of the prisoners, had 
betni liberated from the stocks. 

There »vas attached to the guard at the prison, an old 
soldier, who 1 should have before mentioned, as having 
been friendly to us. He woidd procure straw for us, 
from wliich we ninnufactured hats, and other litde arti- 
cles, for which he found us a ready sale. He soon be- 
came suspected l»y the officers, and informed us that he 
should be obliged to fly, to escape death or imprison- 
ment. VVe contributed, from the proceeds of our work, 
a sum sufficient to purchase him a suit of clothes, and 
he fled from us, and from his country, leaving us desti- 
tute of a friend in our misery. 

While we had been confined in the stocks, we ob- 
served the masons ui work, filling up the hole, through 
whirh we had effected onr former escape, and we be- 
lieved tliat this would be tiie best place to renew our 
attempt for freedom. A consultation was held, and as 
it was evident th U what we should do, must be done in 
a single night, we lost no time in attacking the walL 
Accordingly, at eight o'clock in the evening, we com- 
menced operations at the newly closed breach, and at 
twelve o'clock, we had freed ourselves of our chains, 
and stood once1tii)re in the open air, under the star-spot- 
ted vault of Heaven. 

1 returned thanks for my deliverance, and invoked 
the divine assistance, to complete my escape, by guiding 
my feet aright, for I had by this time, wicked as had 
been my life, learned that there was one above, " mighty 
to save." ^1 



Lll-E OF JOHN EDSALL. 65 

We pursued the same route which we had before ta- 
ken, and indeed it was the only one which we could 
pursue, unless we liad a mind to take a swim out on the 
North Atlantic Ocean. We again came to the river, 
and swam it. Joseph Bennet was here drowned. 1 
understood that his body was afterwards taken up, (the 
buzzards havhifs; picked his eyes out,) and interred by 
a charitable Spanish lady. The place where we land- 
ed, was an island, although not the one upon which we 
had before sojourned. Here we concealed ourselves for 
two days, when we saw a black fellow fishing. We had 
learnefl to put little faith in this sort of cattle, but as we 
could not live here long, I ventured down upon the 
beach, and entered into conversation with him. 1 repre- 
sented to him our wrongs and our suflerings, how we 
had been seduced from our homes, and how we had suf- 
fered from chains and disease. 1 told him that we had 
once before escaped, and had been delivered up by the 
man whom we trusted, and of our subsequent punish- 
ment, and my story drew tears from the eyes of the old 
negro. Crossing his thumb and finger, he swore by 
that sign, that he would assist us to escape. I never 
knew an oath broken, when macie by the sign of the 
cross, and I put faith in his promise ; nor did we repent 
this confidence. He directed us to remain concealed, 
until some dark night, and promised to tlirnish us pro- 
visions daily. No entreaties could move him to attempt 
to take us away, until he believed he could do so with 
perfect safety, and we could do nothing but wait the old 



66 INCIDENTS IN THE 

fellovis* time. We lived well, being furnished every 
day, (or rather night,) with f*)od. 

A vesstl, the name of which I do not now recollect, 
(the Captain's name, I tliink was Price,) was lying in m 
the harbor. After our second escape was known to 
Captain Sanford, he agreed with the Captain to take us 
on board, should we apply. Having told the old man 
of our acquaintance with Captain Sanford, he called 
upon him, and niformed him of our place of conceal- 
ment, and by him we learned of the arrangement with 
the Captain of the vessel. 

We remained concealed upon this island, eight days. 
1 he night of tiie {a>t day was one of the darkest and 
most tempestuous, that I recollect of having ever seen. 
The rain fell in torrents, until about twelve o'clock, 
when the wind lulled, although it still continued raining 
smartly. .\o person, whether his intentions were good 
or evil, could wish fur a ditrkor time to favor his plans. 
A clouJy night was all our benefactor had been waiting 
for, and if this did not suit him, we should have only 
referred him to Egypt. Soon after midnight, he 
came, and directed us to go on board his boat as spee- 
d.ly as possible, and we soon found ourselves rapidly 
approaching the bridge. We were now ordered to lie 
down in the boat, which we did, although I could not 
help recollecting the former treacherous conduct prac- 
ticed towards us, but, I ren)embered the sacred sign by 
which he had sworn to be faithful to us, and quieted 
my fears. The rain had so nearly filled the boat with 
water, that we were almost covered by it, as we lay on 



I 



LIFE OF JOHN ED5ALL. 67 

the bottom. As we passed under the bridge, tlie sentry 
hailed, and enquired where the old man was goini; a^ 
that xiaie of tlie night, and what was his business? He 
repUed tiiat he was going to fish. No more questions 
were asked, and we proceeded t)n our way. iVe 
reached the vessel in the harbour, at about lluee o'clock 
in the morning. The Captain was on shore, and the 
mate being ignorant of any thing that had passed be- 
tween him and Captain Sanford, refused to allow us to 
come on board. After representing to l)im our situa- 
tion, and telling him that we had been promised sht^Iter 
and protection on hoard this vessel, and after a great 
deal of persuasion, he permittrd us to board, and remain 
until the return of the Captain, who was expected about 
four o'clock. It now was necessary to part with our 
old friend, the black man, and to make him a.l the com- 
pensation in our power, for his kindness to us. 

We mustered forty dollars among us, and a t^old 
chain, whicli we had taken while in prison, as a pledge 
for the payment of fifteen dollars, which we had lent to 
the owner. Tlfis had been valued at fifty dollars. The 
money we had earned by makmg straw hats. We gave 
to him the chain and cash, and he left us, apparently, 
j^ighly pleased with his fishing excvrsion. 
. We went into the forecastle to dry ourselves, and to 
await the coming of the Captain. After so many disap- 
pointments, I dared hardly hope that I was in safety. 
Dark forebodings of the fcture, of some violent reaction, 
or bitter reversion of our present good fortune, fdled my 
mind, and, I know not why, while my companions were 



68 INCIDENTS IN THE 

congratulating themselves upon having at last escaped 
from their dungeons, and be^an to talk of home, I was 
sad, and f ouid not beheve that our freedom was reality. 
The^e ph)omv presentiments did not vanish, the reader 
may be assured, when the Captatn came on board and 
told us that his vessel ^^as not yet ready to receive us, 
that he was daily visited by Spnnish ofiicers, who 
would discover us, and that therefore he dared not keep 
us, — that we must go on shore and secrete ourselves 
until the vessel was ready to sail, lie promised to send 
us, eacli night, provisions for the ensuing ddy. 1 now 
began to think thai my calamities would never end, but 
with ( ?euih. There was no use, however, of complain- 
intr, and we shoved off for that shore, which 1 had 
lioped that I was never again to visit, but to which it 
now seemed becktniing me, to make n)y grave. After 
our arrival on shore, we separated for the purpose of 
finding sojue convenient hiding-place, as the morning 
was about breaking, and we did not like to be seen in 
lariz;e nuuibers together. Altera short search, we found 
an old ruin, and apprising the rest of our discovery, we 
were soon all safely stowed away in its precints. Our 
lifj was, here, rather monotonous ; it was a hard matter 
to sleep, on account of the incessant chatter of paroquet*, 
and the howling of dogs, and so we passed away about 
nine days, as well as we could, burrowing in the eartli, 
like rabbits. 1 began now to enquire of myself, why 
we were thus unfortunate!}/ situated ; why we had been 
imprisoned and chained ; why we were thus fearful of 
ceming out into the light of day ; why so many Itad 



LITE OF JOHN EDSALL. 69 

(lied upon the scaffold, and by disease ; and wliy we 
were yet hunted like beasts, and yet no one dare to 
be our friend; I could not answer the questions, and I 
know of none on earth who can. Far be it from nie, 
to lift the veil which death throws over its victim. Had 
I the power of vision, I would not wish to penetrate the 
dark chambers offuturil}^, and look upon the sufferings 
of those who have stepped across the narrow channel, 
which runs between Time and Eternity, but I cannot 
but think that the soul of a man, who had been the 
cause of all our sufferings, must be heavily charged with 
guilt. He who enlisted me in the expedition, of which 
I was then reaping the bitter fruits, has passed from Life 
to Death. Before he went away to his account, I for- 
gave him. I trust that all of us did, and I hope and 
trust, that that Being, against whom he sinned, more 
than against us, has forgiven him, and blotted out his 
transgressions from the great book of remembrance. 
I repjret to say. however, that at that time, my feelings 
lowards him, were not of the most charitable kind. 



70 . INCIDENTS IN THE 



CHAPTEK X. "^ 

After nine days spent in this ruin, tlie vessel was 
ready to sail. We accordingly embarked, and put to 
s?a. After getting about twelve miles outside of Bocca 
Chica, we were called (r nn the hold, where v.e had 
been concealed, upon deck. '^IMie caplnin told us that 
we were now safe, and had nothing to fear. We gave 
three hearty cheers, and began once more to draw long 
breaths ; bvit our evil star was yet above llie horizon, for 
in running about five miles farther, the vessel struck a 
reef of rocks, and carried away her rudder, and we 
were forced to put back to Carihageua to repair the 
loss. There was on board, a Spanish military offic^^ 
(as a passenger,) of whom we were atraicl. We believed 
that he would consider it Iiis duty to inform t!je author- 
ities of the city, of our beincr on board. Perceiving, 
by our looks, that we distrusted him, he came forward 
and told us we had nothing to fear, tiiat we were per- 
haps safer from his knov/ledge of our being tiiere, than 
we sliould otherwise he. 

Kight da3S longer were spent in playing hide and 
seek, on shore, when the vessel liaving got a new rudder, 
we were ngain taken on board. During our passage 
out of the liarbor, and through the strait of Bocca 
Cidca, we did not hurrah^ and it was a long tiuje after 
tht northern shores of bouth America had become 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSELL. 71 



blended widi the ocean, before we dared to believe that 
we were once a^ain /ree 

After a short passat;e we arrived at Havana. This 
place, every body knows, is on the north west part of 
the island of (yiiba, opposite Florida. But as every body 
has not been there, I will take the liberty of noticing it. 
It was, at the time I was there, about two miles in tir- 
cumference, and contained about two thousand inhabit- 
ants, ft has a beautiful harbour, large enough to con- 
tain one thousand, or twelve hundred vessels, yet the 
entrance to it is so narrow, that only one ship can enter 
at a time, aiifl this mouth is defended by large forts or 
batteries. 'I'he buildings are \'QYy handsome, built prin- 
cipally of stone, and, generally, very sp!<-ndid!y fur- 
nished. The town is on the west side of the harbour, 
and at this port, all the ships which come from Spanish 
settlements, rendezvous, upon their return to Irrpain. 
Owing to this circumslance,we were afraid that we might 
be picked up, and therefore concluded to leave the ship, 
and disperse ourselves through the country. As ! am 
now about to abandon my fonner comrades, it may be 
well to give the reader an account, as far as I have been 
able to learn, of tlie ultimate fate of those who went out 
with me in the expedition of General Miranda, and then 
leave the subject; I think it would be better than to 
break in upon my subsequent personal suflerings, by 
short, disjointed notices of them. 

The following list may remind those who suffered 
with me, of an old companion, who has not yet forgot- 



72 INCIDENTS IN THE 

ten those, with whom he passed many painful days and 
nights of sorrow. 

Captain Huddle, of Philadelphia, was killed in the 
action with the two Spanish Garda-Costas, April 28, 
1806. 

Joseph Paulding, of Philadelphia, was driven over- 
board with me, and unfortunately drowned the same 
day. 

The ten who were executed July 21, ]806, have al- 
ready been mentioned at large. 

William Burnsides, died at Carthagena, in September 
1806. 

John T. O'SulIivans escaped by breaking through 
the guards, at the Hospital in Carlhagenain September 
1806, as related, Jeremiah Powell, pardoned September 
1806. 

John Sherman, William Lippencott, and Moses 
Smith, escaped at our first breaking out of prison, ai 
Carthagena, and returned home. They are probably 
all still living. 

John Burk, died in the Hospital at Carthagena, Nov. 
1806. 

Eaton Burlingham, died at the same Hospital, in 
January, 1807. 

John Scott, died at the same place in the month of 
March, 1807. 

Alexander Buchanan, escaped from the guards about 
this time, returned to JNew-York, June, 1S09, and died 
Sept. 1811. 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL 7 



o 



Henry Sperry escaped in 1809, and is probably still 
living in New-York. 

Matthew Buchanan, David Winton, Stephen Burtis, 
and John Parsells, escaped with me, and^for aught 
I know, are still alive. 

Joseph Bennet, escaped with me, but was drowned 
in attempting to swim a river, as before stated. 

John M. Elliott, David Heckle, Thomas Gill, John 
Hayes, and James Grant, also escaped with me, and left 
me at the Havana. 

John Moore, mate of the Leander, was pardoned in 
1808. 

Henry Ingcrsoll, Lieutenant, was also pardoned. 
Phineas Raymond, was seni to Porto Rico, and I 
have never since heard from him. 

Frederick Rigus, died in the Hospital at Carthagena, 
Dec. 1S07. 

Daniel M'Kay, experienced the same fate in June, 
1807. 

Hugh Smith, a bo}^ pardoned in 1808. 
Bennet B. Negus, escaped from the Hospital at Car- 
thagena, 1809. 

Joseph Heckle, Samuel Price, and Benjamin NichoU 
son, escaped witli Henry Sperry, in 1809. 

William Cartwright, died of a sore which he made 
upon his leg, by applying soap and lime, in 1809. 

George Ferguson, died of a severe beating which ll^ 
received for attempting to escape. 

G 



74 INCIDENTS IN THE 

Robert Sanders, was sentenced to five years hard 
labour in the mines for an attempt to escape from prison^ 
by means of false keys, — of the remainder, I know no- 
thing. I believe, however tliat most of them were par- 
doned in 1810. 



LIFE or JOHN EDSALL. 7S 



CHAPTER XL 

At Havana, I engaged on board an English Mer- 
chant vessel, with the agreement that I should be ex- 
changed, or transferred to the first American vessel, 
which we should meet, in want of hands. We pro- 
ceeded on owr voyage to Turks' Island. During this 
passage, nothing occurred worth mentioning, and wg 
arrived safely at our destination. Here we found an 
American Schooner, commanded by a Captain Brant, 
and I was exchanged for an English sailor who he had 
on board. We staid at Turks' Island two weeks, when, 
having completed our cargo of salt, we sailed for Port- 
au-Prince, in the island of St. Domingo. I had ship- 
ped as cook and cabin boy, and at this place, I was sent 
to the market by one of the sailors, to purchase for him, 
some Bananas. While I was cheapening some in the 
market, I happened to let one fall, and as the old wo- 
man to whom they belonged, was rather noisy upon the 
subject, rather than to get into difficulty, I agreed to 
take a quantity at her price. Finding me so easily 
frightened, she insisted upon having sixpense more than 
she had at first demanded. I refused to give it, and 
calling around her a company of negro soldiers, she 
began to threaten me. I retreated, with my fruit, to- 
wards the boat, to which I was followed by these ne- 
groes, who seized me, and in getting out of the boat to 
de'end myself, I was pushed under water, and narrowly 



76 INCIDENTS IN THE 

escaped d4>wning. The officers seeing the fracas, and 
being, some of them, slightly acquainted with me, came 
to my assistance, and I had the satisfaction to see these 
soldiers severely punished, for the outrage committed 
upon me. In this scrape, I lost my bananas. Our captain 
was a very amorous young man, and getting acquaint- 
ed with a young Creole girl, who was remarkably 
handsome,he spent most of his time on shore,in her com- 
pany. It would not be well for me to expose matters 
of this kind, but to shew how deeply he was infatuated, 
I will barely mention, that losing his clothes and money 
one night, which obliged him to keep his bed, until he 
could send for a change of apparel, to the ship, did not 
cure him. 

We here discharged our cargo of salt, and took in 
ballast, when we proceeded to iea. After getting about 
thirty miles from Port-au-Prince, the Captain discovered 
that his papers were missing, and we came to, off a little 
village, the name of which I do not now recollect, while 
he went back, by land, to search for his papers. He 
said that this was his object, and I was, of course, bound 
to believe him : but I have often thought since, as I did 
at that time, that he had forgotten to take a parting 
kiss of his lovely mustee, and went back to make up for 
the neglect. During his absence, a quarrel took place 
between the mate and myself, which eventuated in my 
taking f ranch leave of the vessel. Having cooked, one 
morning, rather more eggs than he chose to eat at his 
breakfast, I distributed the remainder among the crew. 
T^his displeased him, and he cursed me heartily, and this. 



LIFE OF JOHN Et)SALL. 77 

displeased wif, so that I concluded to leave the vessel, 
and endeavour to do as well elsewhere. I accordingly, 
consulted with another 3^oung man, upon the subject, 
and we agreed to pack up our clothes and start. After 
having prepared a sufficient supply of provisions, and 
other little matters, his courage failed him, and he con- 
cluded to stay on board tiie vessel. I had nothing now 
to do, but stay also, and be abused, or to go alone, and 
I chose the latter. While the mate was at breakfast, 
the next morning, I threw my bundle into the boat, and 
jumping in after it, pushed off for the shore. I had got 
nearl}' half the distance, when I heard the mate singing- 
out, " you damned rascal, bring that boat back," I 
knew that he could not pursue me, as the boat which I 
had, was the only one that belonged to the vessel, and 
replying that I would send it back, when I had dore 
with it, I kept on my way. When I reached the shore, I 
found a boy idling on the beach, and to him 1 gave a 
dollar, to carry back the boat to the vessel. He pock- 
eted the money, but left the boat to thump to pieces on 
the bead). 1 ?.iow made the best of my way to the top 
of the cliff, or high ground which overlooks the sea. 

" The fishermen, that walk upon the beach, 

" Appear hke mice : and yon tall anchoring bark, 

" Dimmished to her boat, a buoy 

*' Almost too small for sight; The murmuring surge, 

"That on the unnumbered idle pebbles chafes. 

*' Cannot be heard so high ;" — 



G 



■H- 



78 INCI1>ENTS IN THE 

This description would have answered, perhaps, bet- 
ter, had our vessel not been deprived of her boat. 

The trees upon this headland were covered with a J| 
long kind of moss, the same article which is nov/ used in 
stuffing matresses, in the place of curled hair. I gath- 
ered a quantity of it, and finding a very convenient 
hiding-place, which had been made by a \viiidfall, I 
made myself a comfortable bed. 1 passed the time in 
sleeping and watching the vessel, for two days, when I 
saw the Captain who had returned from Port-au-Princc,^ 
go on board. After remaining a short time, he returned 
to the shore, as I supposed, to search for me, accompa- 
nied by the mate. They staid on shore, until nearly 
sun down, when they again went on board, and soon 
after weighed anchor, and put to sea. I waited until 
the vessel had fairly got out of sight, and then leaving 
my retreat, I went down to the little village, at the foot 
of the hill. Here I staid through the night, and the 
next day, met with a Spanish coasting Schooner, bound 
to Port-au-Prince. I took passage in lier at the price 
of two dollars, and the same day we started on our 
voyage. After getiing out to sea, I overheard a con- 
versation between the Captain and mate, in french, and 
from a little knowledge of this language, 1 learned that 
Captain Brandt had offered a reward for my capture 
and imprisonment, as a runaway from his vessel. Much 
debate took place, between them, as to what should be 
done with me at our arrival at Port-au-Prince, and as 
they supposed me ignorant of that language, they did 
not talk in whispers. I had served quite an apprentice- 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 79 

ship in prison and chains, and had got heartily sick of 
them, and I deternrjined to know the worst immediately. 
I therefore broke in upon their conversation, and told 
them plainly, that if I was to be sacrificed, the present 
time was quite as convenient to me as any other ; that I 
had already suffered considerable, and rather than en- 
dure a repetition of it, I was determined to sell my life as 
dearly as possible ; and that if they were determined to 
make aprisoner of me,they had better commence as soon 
,as possible. Whether m}^ determination alarmed them, 
or from what other cause, I do not know, but nothin«»- 
more was said upon the subject, and at our arrival at 
Port-au-Prince, 1 was suffered to go on shore, unmo- 
lested. Soon after this, I met a french woman, who snake 
very good English. During the revolution upon this 
island, this woman had been a number of times, arraigned 
by the negroes, as one of tije " White French." She 
always, however, escaped by saying that she was an 
American, and this excuse or pretence, was favoured bv 
her knowledge of the English language. With her I 
engaged to board, and I remained concealed at her 
house, believing thai; Cnpt^'in Brandt woald return, or 
would cause a search to be made for m* At the end 
of this time, as I heard of no enquiries for mc ; I ven- 
tured out, and afier lounging about for a few days, I 
shipped on board an English Brig, then in harbor, as a 
common hand. I remained on board about four weeks, 
(still lying in the harbor) but at last getting tired of the 
trouble of dividing the bread from the weavil, and of the 
other provision, I left her, and sought my old quarters 



so INCIDENTS IN THE 

at the French soman's. With her I staid, very com- 
fortably, about a week longer. /. t the expiration of 
this lime, an English Schooner, the Lucy Ann, of Lon- m| 
don, came into port. Being short of hands, and as I 
did not see any prospect of being soon able to get on 
board an American vessel, I shipped in her, and after 
remaining in port a fortnight, during which time nothing 
remarkable occurred, we started on a voyage up the 
Mediterranean Sea, We reached Gibraltar, after a 
short and pleasant passage, when we wooded and wa- 
tered, and then continued on our way, up the Mediterra- 
nean. At Alicant, we stopped and dis barged our car- 
go. Nothing occurred wortli mentioning, excepting 
that I got pretty well tuddled here, upon the excellent 
wine which is made at the place, or in its vicinity. My 
surgical abilities, were also called in requisition. The 
cook had, unfortunately, fallen from the deck into the 
bold, and lav perfectly senseless. As the rest of the 
crew prcftsscd ignorance of the science of blood-letting, 
I offered my services. A lancet v/as procured, and 
given me, and with it, I succeeded in extracting a small 
quantitv of blood, when he revived, and in a few days 
he so completely recovered, as to be able to pursue his 
ordinary avocations, very much obliged to jpie, profes- 
sedly. This circumstance procured for me the title of 
Docicr. We remained at Alicant about two weeks, dis- 
charging our cargo, and getting in stone ballast. This 
place is in a bay of the same name, and is twenty-five 
miles soudi of Valencia. It has a castle, on a high 
rock which the inhabitants called impregnable, alihough 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 81 

it was taken by the English in 1706, and has been 
since taken, by the French an-l Spaniards, after a seige 
of two years, at which time a part of the rock was blown 
off. Alicant is re'markable forjthe excellence of its fruits, 
and I can bear testimony, to the delicious flavour of its 
wines. We started from this place to Turk's Island, 
which in due time we reached, and getting in a cargo 
of salt, we proceeded to St. John's in Newfoundland., 
This place is situated on the east side of the Island of 
Newfoundland, nnd has a fine harbor, which is defended 
by several forts. While on our passage to this port, 
(which,owing to calms,and head winds, was a long one,) 
our provisions became nearly exhausted, and we were put 
upon an allowance of one biscuit, and half a pint of 
water per day. We had a plenty of beef, but dared not 
eat much, as our allowance of water would not quench 
the thirst occasioned by its saltoess. We continued on 
allowance, until within four days sail of St. Johns', 
when a shower of rain fell, and all hands were set to 
work in spreading sails, he. to conduct the water which 
fell, into tubs. This water was somewhat brackish, yet 
it quenched our thirst, and at that time, tasted delicious. 
We reached the harbor in four days after this shower, 
and discharged our cargo of salt. About three weeks 
after our arrival, a British man of War put into this 
port, and impressed four of our crew, among which 
number I was. They took me on board their vessel, 
and detained me through the night. The next morning 
the Captain of the Schooner came on board ; and after 
a considerable intercession, he procured my release, 



82 



INCIDENTS IN THE 



representing me, as 1 truly was, an American. After 
remaining here two weeks longer, and getting in a car- 
go of fish, we proceeded to Alicant, in the Mediterra- 
nean. I do not know that it will be worth while, to 
relate all that happened for some time after this. The 
succeeding year was taken up, in voyages to and from 
St. Johns' and Alicant, touching at Turks' Island. — 
These voyages were dull, and nothing which was very 
Interesting to me, or which would be likely to be so to 
the reader, occurred in their prosecution. I am aware 
that many would make a long story of a voyage across 
the Atlantic, but it must be remembered that I was inca- 
pable of keeping a log-book, and of course, most of the 
occurrences wliich might be worth preserving, have es- 
caped ni}' memory, I proceed to those parts of n)y 
story, which are to me, (if not to the reader,) the most 
jateresling and eventfuk 



LIFE or JOHN EDSALL. S3 



CHAPTER XII. 

After, as I have before stated, spending a time in tra-* 
ding from St. John's to Alicant, we made a voyage, 
with a cargo offish to London. As I had heard much 
of the magnitude and splendour of this city, and as this 
was my first visit to it, I determined to look around a 
litde. I accordingly asked for my discharge, and was 
paid off. I spent some days in lounging about this 
huge city. Sometimes, I would venture some distance 
from the river side, and gape and stare among palaces 
and hotels, churches and monuments, until wondering 
how they came there, who built them, and how rich the 
king, and the owners of the splendid establishments, 
must be, and lost in the variety of my own speculations, 
I would return to the water, to gaze upon the forest of 
masts, w'lih. which I was somewhat better acquainted. 
1 soon grew sick of this idle life, and I found diat there 
were poor people in London, as well as every where 
else, that there were a number of hovels, mixed in with 
these lofty domes, and that my money would not last 
forever. As I did not believe the king, with all his 
riches, would give me any more, when that was gone, 
I concluded to quit London, and go to sea again. I 
accordingly, shipped on board an American Brig, 
bound to Boston. This was my first return to my na- 
tive country, since I had left it, in 1 806. Years had 
passed rapidly down the hill of time, and vanished at its 



84 JNCIDENTB IN TUE 

foot. I had seen much of the dark side of the picture 
of Life, and I now concluded to remain in my own 
land, where, it has been proudly said, that the wan- 
derer finds rest, and, no matter what his birth place, an 
assylum. Like the bird which left tlie ark, I had flown 
over a sea of troubles. No green spot had lifted itself 
above the billows, and I had now returned to the ark 
which 1 had left, to nestle in its bosom. But I find 
that 1 am getting sentimental. 

I staid at this place, until I found that the Bostonians 
had learned a great many of the foolish habits of the 
*' Lv.nnuners,^^ and as this did not suit my taste, so well 
as a ships' mess, I engaged on board the good Brig- 
Rover, Captain Morse, bound on a trading voyage to 
the coast of Guinea. Our voyage was of some length, 
but very uninteresting. We traded oat our cargo along 
from Loango to Biafra, with the negroes, when we 
proceeded to Princes' Island, a small island, a little ofl' 
the coast, and rather, in the Bight of Biafra. It is 
mentioned in some gazettes as being 250 miles south-ivest 
of Loango. It may be well enough to correct this mis- 
take, for it is one, as this island lies quite as far, to the 
north'ivesi of that place. While on this passage, we 
were put upon an allowance of bread, which gave rise, 
to a serious quarrel, between the Captain and cook. 
The cook was ordered to provide something, for the 
purpose of dealing out to us our allowance, and al- 
though there was nothing on board, which would 
answer the purpose, still the Captain persisted in the 
order. The cook endeavoured to convince him, that he 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 85 

couid not create vessels from nothing, but in vain, 
and at last, the cook, getting in a passion, told the Cap- 
tain, that if the men were to be put on allowance, that 
it was his business, or that of the owners, to furnish 
something to serve it in. The Captain seized a 
hatch-bar and struck the cook, when a scuffle ensued, 
in which the Captain's finger was^sllghtly cut, by a cor- 
ner of the bar. There being but two white seamen on 
board, of which number, I was a moiety^ we were or- 
dered to tie the cook and flog liim. l¥e told the Cap- 
tain, that we did not ship as BGatswain^s mates, and as 
we considered th.e order \ery unreasonable, and one 
whicli the cook could not comply with, we should do no 
such thing, neither should we sufier any one else to. 
Here we supposed the matter had dropped, but we were 
mistaken, for upon our arrival at Princes' Island, which 
vvas three days after this fracas, as soon as we had got 
the sails furled, we were visited by a guard of soldiers, 
who the Captain had procured on shore, for the pur- 
pose of arresting us. IN'o time was allowed us to put on 
our coats ^ we were taken on shor6, the negroes thrown 
in prison, r.nd we, (die two whites,) were told by the cap- 
tain, that we must shift for ourselves, that we should not 
go again on board the vesseL He would not pay us our 
wages, nor give us our clothes. This was indeed a 
pretty predicament for us ; left upon a strange island, 
inhabited by negroes aud Portuguese, with nothing but 
our nether garments, and these none of the finest quality, 
or most fashionable cut. The next day we procured a 
boat, and went alongside of the vessel, for the purpose 



86 INCIDENTS IN THE 

of getting our clothes, if possible. Tiie Captain and 
mate, armed with handspikes, forbid us to board. We 
demanded our wages and apparel, but were answered 
that we should have neither, and that w^e must be " of 
with ourselves," as they would have nothing to do with 
us. We returned to the shore, rather disheartened, and 
the ue:A day, saw the Captain there. We aga^n re- 
auested him to pay our wages, or at least, to f/ive us 
again our clothes, but we were refused as before. The 
next day time he visited the shore, he was accompanied 
by the steward, and after some solicitation, we succeeded 
in obtaining our coats, which was all we ever did receive. 

We lounged about here a few days, subsisting upon ^ 
corn and cocoa-nuts, which we stole, when the negroes, 
who had been imprisoned, were taken out into the mar- 
ket-place, aiid severely flogged. They were then taken 
on boardj and shortly after, the vessel put to sea, leaving 
us destitute of money, or any of the necessaries of life, 
strangers in a strange land. Two days of our time 
were spent in living as we had, upon stolen corn and 
nuts, and sleeping at night, under the liouses which 
were built upon spiles or stilts, from three to five feet 
from the ground, when an American Brig, a Slaver, I 
was brought to this island, by a British armed ship, as 
a prize, to be sold. The lieutenant of the man-of-war, J 
came on shore, and seeing me sick and dispirited, offered 
me a berth on board his vessel, and a mess with his men 
on shore, until the sale of the slaver should be effected, 
and the vessel ready for sea. 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSELL. 87 

I told him that I had been on board a man-of-war, 
and that from experience, I did not Hke the usages on 
hoard them : I however accepted the offer of messing 
with his crew. My companion being in much better 
heahh than m3^self, and being acquainted with the Por- 
tuguese language, had found employment in the town. 
I went to the mess before mentioned, and one of the sai- 
lors kindly furnished me with his liammock, lying, him- 
self, upon the ground. I was here carefully attended, 
my wants charitably supplied, and medicine adminis- 
tered to me, which in a short time partialty relieved 
me from my sickness. I remained here, until the ship 
left the island, which was in about two weeks, when the 
Lieutenant charitably gave me five dollars, and I bid 
farewell to him and the crew, who had so generously 
ministered to my wants. Not being perfectly recovered, 
I went to a public house, (the Portuguese name of which, 
I do not now recollect,) and engaged to board, at the 
rate of one dollar a day, believing, that in a short time, 
some vessel would arrive, in which I could leave this de- 
testable island. They allowed me to stay five days 
here, when, finding diat my purse was exhausted, they 
turned me out of doors, and I had recourse to my for- 
mer mode of living, viz., stealing fruit by day, arid 
sleeping under the houses by night. After two days 
I more, spent in this vagabond way of living, the cargo 
I of an English Schooner, which had been wrecked on 
the coast, was brought into this port, by the Captain, 
who, to make the best disposal of it, in his power, hired 
a small shop, and commenced a retail store, in ^ihlch 



•i*^ 



S8 INCIDENTS IN THE 

way he rapidl}^ got rid of lils damaged articles, to the 
inhabitants. With the proceeds of his cargo, he pur- 
chased a small vessel, and hired me to repair its sails. 
he. While at this job, I boarded with him, and lived 
very comfortably. I was employed in this maimer about 
three weeks, at the end of which time, he generously I 
presented me v/iih a pai'r cf shoes, as a reward for my 
labour ! Soon after this, a Portuguese vessel, with a 
cargo of slaves, came into the harbor. Her sails were 
also damaged, and she was in want G^vAnd sails. The 
Captain engaged me to do this work, and after two 
Weeks of hard labor, I received the munificent renumer- 
ation of a pair of coarse dack trowsers, and a coarser 
shirt !! An idle week "more was passed on this island, 
when an English Merchant vessel put in for wood, wa- 
ter, and provisions. I applied to the Captain for a I 
berth, who answered me, that he was indeed in want of^ 
hands, but that he was short of provisions, and that 
wages were extremely high, and for these two reasons, 
he did not like to ship me. I pressed him so hard, that 
he told me he would give me an answer the next day. 
So much did I wish to get off from this island, that I 
told him, rather than go with him, I would be willing 
to work my passage. The following da}'^, he informed 
me that 1 might go on board, and a few days after this, 
we sailed from this island. 

Robinson Crusoe, as I have read, had become at- 
tached to his islandj having so long lived upon it, but if 
he had fallen in with Princes' Island, I think that he 
would have lived to have been quite as old as Methuse- 






LIFE OF JOHN ED5ALL. 89 

\'dh, before he had formed a very strong local aUacli- 
ment. 

Never was I more pleased, than when this little isle, 
showed in the distance like a speck, or wild fowl, resting' 
Oil die bosom of the ocean. 



W 



M 



90 INCIDENTS IN THE 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Upon our passage, a quarrel arose between myseli 
and a black man, on board, and he threatened, that he 
would have me impressed on board the first man-of-war, 
with which we should meet. I do not exactlj' recollect 
the cause of this difficulty, and I only mention it, for 
the purpose of shewing how people may be mistaken 
in their calculations. This black fellow knew that I 
had no protection, and believed, that he could easily 
cause me to be impressed ; but little did lie think that 
he was so soon to experience the fate which he had 
marked out for me. Our passage from Princes' Island, 
was of three months duration, and when entering the 
British Channel, we were boarded by a press-master 
and his gang. Those of the crew who were liable to 
be taken, myself with the rest, concealed ourselves 
among the casks and logwood in the hold, with which 
we were laden. In this way we all escaped, excepting 
the poor black-a-moor, who had threatened me with im-r 
pressment. He was taken on board a man of war 
lying at the mouth of the Thames. 

When we had arrived at London dock, and furled 
our sails, and washed down our decks, the Captain 
permitted the keepers of boarding houses to come on 
board, for the purpose of procuring customers from 
among the crew. I stood aloof from, the rest, and 
while they were rigging themselves out, in their '* go- 






LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 91 

ashore-togs,'' I could not help but take a stolen glance 
«t my poor habiliments. I had no money, and my 
clothes were about worn out ; indeed they had never been 
of the most delicate texture, or most fashionable form. 
At length, one of the publicans came to me, and en- 
quired if I did not want a boarding house. I franlily 
told him my situatioUj without any reserve, and he ap- 
peared to take pity upon me. He requested me to 
accompany him to his house, and told me that I should 
not starve. 1 went with iiim, and upon arriving at his 
house, and taking a drop to make us comfortable, he 
enquired more into the particulars of my story, which 
I related to him. He then told me that he thought some- 
thing might be done for me, at any rate, that I was wel- 
come to stay at his house, until I should get a situation 
or berth on board some vessel, bound to America. 

I was in his house about three weeks, and at the ex- 
piration of this time, he came to me with fifteen pounds 
sterling, v^^{ch he had obliged the Captain of the vessel 
to pay him for me, as wages, at the rale of five pounds 
sterling per month. 1 now paid my board, and pur- 
chased a suit of clothes. 1 offered to make my host a 
present of a few pounds for his trouble, but he would 
receive nothing but the price of my board. He then 
accompanied me to the house of the American Consul, 
from whom I received di protections as an American citi- 
zen. I staid with my friendly landlord another week, 
during which time, 1 nearly finhhed my money, and 
then taking leave of l^m, I shipped on board an Eng- 
lish Schooner, at the rate of twenty-five dollars per 



92 INCIDENTS IN THE 

month. I now supposed that I was safe, under the pro- 
tection which I had received from the Consul. We 
sailed in a few da3'S out of the river, and proceeded on 
our voyage. We touched at Bonair on our passage, 
where we staid a day or two, and from thence, we went 
to Alicant. Nothing liappened here, worth noticing, 
^ and we returned, after along passage to London. This 
voyage, outward and returning, occupied fourteen 
months. The same day of our return, as I was busily 
occupied in furling a sail, we were boarded by a press- 
master and gang, and all hands were called to the quar- 
ter deck. I knew their business perfectly well, but was 
not at all alarmed, as I relied upon my certificate as an 
American,wiih the utmost faith. After shewing tliis pa- 
per, I was allowed to return to my work, and while I 
was revolving in my mind, whether I should again ship 
on board this vessel, or endeavour to get a passage 
home, 1 was called again, and ordered to get into the 
boat of the press-master. Supposing that I was to be 
taken on shore to execute some little commission, and 
be immediately sent back to the vessel, I jumped into 
the boat, wiiich was directly rowed towards the city. 
After proceeding two or three miles, we were met by 
another large boat. I was then asked to shew my pro- 
tection. This I refused, as they had once seen it, and 
were acquainted with its contents, and told them, that 
they could find out more, probably, by calling upon the 
American Consul. I was then seized, and the paper 
taken from me by force. Ihis they tore in pieces, be- 
fore my eyes, and putting me on board the large boat, 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL 9 



<-> 



I was sent on board the receiving ship. The oest 
day, the press-master came on board, and 1 endeavoured 
to convince him that he was acting altogether wrong, in 
taking me forcibly iVom the schooner, but he did not 
appear to wish to be convinced, and I had, at last, to 
submit. He however, offered to go on board the 
schooner, and receive my wages, if I should authorise 
him to do so. I signed my Ixj to an order which he 
wrote, and before a great while I received nly chest and 
money, which amounted to a little more than four hun- 
dred dollars. (This sum embraces my wages, and a 
small amount which I had saved by traffic.) I procured 
a letter to be written to the American Consul, but did 
not receive any answer, nor did I bejieve the letter ever 
reached him. Soon after this, I was sent to the Downs, 
and stationed on board the brig Burlette, where I staid 
three weeks, ^Ibre she '.vas ready to^^sail for tlie Baltic 
Sea. I was closely watched, and was not allowed to go 
on shore at all. They were probably afraid that I 
would attempt to escape, if I w^ere allowed that liberty, 
and their fears were not viithout foundation, for 1 should 
certainly have attempted it, had an opportunity offered. 
I began now to despair ; my wanderings appeared to 
be likely to have no termination. I did not like to 
look forward, and a retrospective glance, the reader will 
agree with me in saying, was not one calculated to cure 
sore eyes. Three weeks, as before stated, were spent 
in the Downs, when a fleet of merchantmen, and two 
armed vessels, besides the Burlette, were ready for sea. 
Our destination was the Baltic Sea, as a convoy to the 



94 INCIDENTS IN THE 

merchantmen. Our voyage was long and dull. After 
we had arrived in the German Ocean, and while running 
up the coast of Denmark, and through the Sleeve and 
Kattigat, which bound that kingdom on the north, and 
east, and wliich connect the Baltic with the German 
Sea, it became often necessary to come to anchor. If 
this happened during the day, and the whole fleet were 
in sight, we ran no risk, but at night, unless the mer- 
chantmen were in short hailing distance, a boats' cre\y, 
armed, were put on board each of them, to protect them 
from any attack by the Danes, who were, at this time, at 
variance with the English. One night, owing to wind 
and current, we came to anchor, and having dropped 
one of our convo}^, a great way astern, the Lieutenant 
and sixteen men, were dispatched in a bo«t, for the pur- 
pose of affording her protection. I was among this 
number, as T Norj before bcGii. After ;vc had rejiched 
tlie vessel, we were directed to watch in pairs, two 
hours at a time, while the rest slept, and upon discover- 
ing any thing suspicious, to alarm the officers and crew. 
My watch on deck was from eleven o'clock till one 
o'clock. At about the middle of my watch, I discovered 
a small schooner approaching. I awoke the rest of 
our company, with as little noise as possible. When 
they were all assembled on deck, we were ordered to 
prepare our fire arms, which being done, we silently and 
carefully got on board our boat, which lay on the lar- 
board side of the vessel, the enemy slowly coming up 
on the opposite side. We rowed under the stern, 
where we lay upon our oars, until we were satisfied that 



^ 



LirE OF JOHN EDSALL. 05 

the schooner was hostile, from hearing orders given to 
prepare to board, in a low tone of voice. We then 
rowed around to the starboard side of the vessel, and 
taking good aim, we poured into the schooner the con- 
tents of sixteen muskets. Those on board, set up a tre- 
menduous howl, and we immediately boarded her with- 
out opposition. The spirit of Hamlet the Dane, did not 
appear to animate the breast of the commander. He 
did not think it prudent to " light upon this theme," but 
getting upon his knees, he bawled out lustily for mercy, 
and surrendered at discretion. Upon an examination, 
we found that two had shared the fate of the meddling 
Poionius, and another was badly wounded by a ball 
through his neck. We took possession, and in the 
mori; ng, towed her along side the Burlette. The 
Danes had calculated upon an easy conquest of the 
merchant vessel, from seeing her so far astern of the 
armed vessels, but were totally unprepared for so warm 
a reception as we had given theni. 

As we did not know what to do with the rag-a-muf- 
fmSjWhom we had captured, our captain took the word of 
honour of the officer commanding the schooner, that 
they would not, for a stated time, be engaged in fighting 
against the English, and they were sent on shore. The 
vessel was worth something, and of course,- we retained 
[her. She was manned from our three vessels of war, 
land armed, and accompanied us ; indeed, she was a 
very valuable accession to our fleet, being a very swift 
sailer. 



96 



INCIDENTS IN THE 



CHAPTER XIV. 

The next evening, we again came to anchor. One 
of our merchantmen was believed to be so near us, that 
it was not necessary to put a guard on board her : and 
we calculated also too much, upon having so terrified 
the Danes, by the preceding evenings, capture, that 
they would not dare to attack her. Early the next 
morning, she was missed. Our captain rubbed Iiis 
eyes, but all to no purpose. He could not rub the ab- 
sent ship into them. She had been cut out during the 
night by the enemy, and a search by boats, was made. 
She was at last discovered on shore, high and dry on 
the beach. 

Orders were now given for four boats, with sixteen 
men and one officer each, to go on shore, and either 
bring her off, or (if tliat was not practicable,) burn her 
where she lay. I was one of the number from our ship, 
who were all volunteers. 

Various opinions exist among men, upon the subject 
of supernatural visitations and warnings of Death, or 
ill fortune. I will not venture to give my opinion, if 
indeed I ever formed any, but will relate a circumstance^ 
which took place, and leave the reader to judge wheth- 
er natural fear, or supernatural notice, governed the 
event. While upon this voyage, a young roan, named ' 
David Price, had broken open my chest and stolen ray 
money, (the four hundred dollars, which the press-mas- 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 97 

ter procured fjr me, from the Captain of the English 
Schooner, as before mentioned.) He had been detected 
by means of a yonng bo}^, who had witnessed the rob- 
bery ; and for this offence, he had been severely flogged. 
He was also a volunteer, to go on shore, and either get 
off the captured vessel, or burn her. Upon getting into 
the boat, he said to me, " John, I have no expectation 
of returning alive from the shore. I know not why, but 
it appears to me this boat is the last one which I shall 
ever pull an oar in. Will you forgive me for having 
robbed you." I told him that I had already both for- 
gotten, and forgiven it ; that he must cheer up, and 
drive away those melancholy forebodings of evil, as 
there appeared to me, to be but little danger in our ex- 
cursion. He however, appeared sad, and his heart ap- 
peared to be heavy v/ithin him, as we rapidly rowed 
towards the shore. 

The cannon of our ships kept up an incessaiU fire 
upon the fort on the land, and we were permitted to 
reach the vessel, which was high upon the beach, be- 
fore we were attacked. A sharp fire was then opened 
upon us from the shore, and of twelve of our company, 
who were killed, but one was of our boat, and tliat one 
was David Price, who was sitting on the same seat with 
me when the shot struck him. 

Never, while memory lasts, shall the appearance of 

that vessel on shore, be effaced from my mind. There 

was no one, dead or alive on board her, but her decks 

seemed to have been literally washed down with blood. 

Every spar and every timber head bore th^ same dark 

I 



93 INCIDENTS IN THE 

criaison hue. The crew had undoubtedly been masss- 
cred and thrown over board, as they were never after- 
wards heard from. , 

Finding it impossible to get her off, we set fire to her, 
and left her a magnificent funeral pile for our unhappy 
comrades. We returned to our respective vessels, 
weighed anchor, and joined the convoy. 

Soon after leaving the burning ship, I was seized 
with the typhus fever. An expoiiraent, (as I afterwards 
learned from the Physician,) was pracdsed upon me. 
Blisters were applied, from the lower part of the abdo- 
men, to my breast, and under my arms, so closely as to 
touch each other. This treatment, (undoubtedly in- 
tended for the best,) reduced me to a state of insensi- 
bility, and my recovery was considered quite uncertain. 
After lying in this situation three weeks, I so far reco- 
vered my senses, as to know that if I turned my head 
hastily, I should lose my teeth, having been so severely 
salivated that they sat easy in my jaws, and rattled like 
a box of dominoes. In the course of time, I recovered 
my health, and v»^as able to go to my duty. I was in the 
same watch with the gunner, and came very near tq> 
having my leg broken. He had removed the steps 
which led to the top-gallant forecastle deck, and wishing 
to reach it, I stepped upon a gun to enable me to do so. 
The gunner seized a handspike and struck me a violent 
blow upon the ancle, which broHght me to the main 
deck, as suddenly as though 1 had been shot. Rather 
than have him punished, or rather from fear of his ven- 
geance, for I was in his watch, and knew that if I told 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. , 9^ 

the circumstances, he would certahil}/ make me repent 
it, I represented to the Captain, that I had sprained my 
ancle, and the matter passed off. I was very lame for 
some time from this blow. 

About three week after this transaction, we learned 
that a war had broken out between Great Britain, atid 
America. Five of the seamen on board the Burlette 
were Americans, and we applied to the Captain for a 
discbarge. We told liim that we were unwilling to fight 
against our countrymen, as we should in all probability, 
be obliged to do, if we should remain in the English 
service. He refused to discharge us then, but said that 
we should soon return to England, where we should 
know more of the matter. Little did he think that he 
was never to see England again ; or that many of his 
cVew were to be discharged, in a short time, not only 
from the British service, but from the service of any na- 
tion or master on earth. 

We staid about five weeks longer in the Baltic, and 
every day of our stay witnessed skirmishes with the 
Danes, some of a serious nature, and others more tri- 
fling. After this time, the merchantmen, being ready 
to sail, we started on our return to London. We were 
jv companied by five Russian vessels of war, who were 
going to England, for the purpose of being coppered 
there. This was an unfortunate matter for us, as 
one of our pilots was put on board a Russian vessel, 
and the one who remained on board, was, I believed, the 
least acquainted with the Baltic. The event will shew 
ihat I was right in my belief. 



100 INCIDENTS IN THE 

At about dusk, we passed Hernholdt light ; and the 
night being foggy, we kept upon the vessel, nothing 
but her foresail and fore topsail. This was the night of 
December 22d, 1812. It was indeed a bitter cold night. 
My watch was on deck, and every thing appeared to bi.- 
well, and I was anticipating a speedy return to Eng- 
land, and a discharge fi'orn the vessel. We supposed 
we had passed the most dangerous part of this danger- 
ous passage. The cry of " Breakers ahead," was im- 
mediately succeeded by a shock that threw me from ofi' 
my legs, and the ship rolled heavily over upon her 
bilge, deeply imbedded in a reef of rocks. Her masts 
broke off like pipe stems, and in less than fifteen min- 
utes, from the time of the concussion, her stern fell clear 
from the vessel, owing to the violence with which she 
thumped against the rocks. j| 

It was about ten o'clock in the evening, when the 
ship struck the reef, and full half of the ships company 
were in their hammocks. Startled at the shock, thev 
ran upon deck without dressing, and of this number, 
not one was alive at twelve o'clock. They clung to 
the frozen rigging, until benumbed Vv'ith cold, they 
would apparently fall asleep, and drop down upon the 
deck or into the surf, one after another, according •) 
the strength of t!ieir constitutions, or the quantity of 
their clothing. None, none escaped. 

There were on board of this ship, twenty-five youn| 
lads, who had been sent out to learn seamanship, and to" 
fit tliem for officers, by giving them practical lessons of 
naval tactics. These young boys were upon the lee 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 1@1 

side of the vessel, between decks, and probably dream- 
ing of their mothers or sisters, whom they soon expect- 
ed to see, and whose kisses they coidd feel in the visions 
of night, imprinted on their burning cheeks. 

" They dreamed of thoir home, of their dear native bowers, 
" And pleasures which waited on life's merry morn." 

IMieir slumbers were not broken by tlie affectionate 
call of a mother, or the gleesome shout of their young 
companions, but by the crash of spars, and the rush of 
waters. Their cries for help, were heart-rending, but 
we could not help them. No arm but that of Him who 
" holds the waters in the hollow of his hand," could af- 
ford them relief, or snatch them from their watery tomb, 
and they \v ent down to the dark chambers of the deep, 
in the morning of their life. I have seen many a strong 
man die, by battle and by wave, but never do I recol- 
lect any thing which so deeply affected me, as the death 
of these 3'oung and unhappy sufferers. 

Desperate, almost to distraction, I rushed to the hold 
where my trunk was, and regardless of my money or 
any thing valuable, 1 seized a bottle of liquor, which I 
had saved from my rations. To this I have always 
attributed, under Providence, the preservation of my 
life. Regaining the deck, I drank heartily of it, and 
divided the rest among those who wished it. We 
passed the night in the most distressing situation. The 
Ship had heeled, or fallen so much upon her side, that 
it was impossible to stand upon the deck, and we crowd- 
ed into the long-boat, which was lashed to the deck and 



102 INCIDENTS IN THE 

which we kept clear of water, by baling with our hats. 
Those who did not exercise themselves, would apparent- 
ly fall into a drowse, their fingers relax their hold upon 
the side of the boat, and if the next surge did not sweep 
their bodies from the boat, we committed them to the 
surf. 

When the morning broke, there remained of our crew, 
(one hundred and twenty-eight in number,) but thirty 
alive, and before the sun had risen, half of that number 
had gone to that land, where cold and frost could not 
effect them. The Captain was still alive, and believed 
that if we could succeed in cutting loose the fastenings 
which held the long boat, to the deck, we might in it 
reach the shore. After groping about some time, I 
found an old axe, with which in a short time, I succeed- 
ed in releasing the boat from her hold upon the deck. 

I preferred to stay on the wreck, and two others 
also staid with me. We did not believe that the boat 
could possibly reach the shore, which lay many miles 
from us, scarcely discernible, and in truth, it was with 
me a matter of doubt whether the object we saw in the 
distance, was land at all, or might it not be a fog bank . 
It was a matter of uncertainty, and I chose rather to 
ipun my risk on a piece of the deck, which was fast 
breaking up, than in the long boat. 

The Sea was extremely rough, and the swells were^ 
of that short and rapid kind, which are peculiar to nar- 
row seas, or inland lakes of any magnitude. These* 
are known to be the most dangerous, to all who are ac- 
quainted witii the sea. The Boat, now at liberty, 



'VC« 






- LIFE OF JOHN EDS ALL. 103 

swung off sidelong, and was in a moment a stones-throw 
from the wreck. The next wave stove and overset her, 
and every soul perished. Perhaps the one half of the 
sufferers rose to the surface, but no scream or cry for 
help, escaped them. They had seen too much of 
Death, and knew how futile were hopes of deliverance. 
They had nerved themselves for the hour, which they 
could not put off. The gunner, who had struck me, as 
I have before mentioned, was the last who went down. 
He rose after the boat had swamped, and cast a look to- 
wards me of tlie most piteous kind, and I am sorry to say 
yet truth compels me to say it, that my feelin!Ts were 
not those of commisseration for his sufferings. He 
struggled some time to reach, the ship, but in vain. He 
sank, and 

" The closing- v/aters mark Ins resting-place, 

" And fold him round in one long-, cold embrace ; 

" Bright bubbles for a moment sparkle o'er, ^ 

" Then break, to be, like him, behekl no more ; 

" Down, countless fathoms down, he sinks to sleep, 

" With all the nameless shapes that haunt the deep." 

Of the boat, I saw uothing after. She probably 
caught on sonje point of the rock, upon which we lay. 

Three now remained upon deck ; three only, of all 
who had but a few hours before, trod that deck, in all 
the beauty and pride of manhood : and we supposed 
that we were the sole survivors. Three more however, 
had found shelter in the fore top, and remained there. 
The foremast was the first which fell, owing to its hav- 
ing the only canvass upon it, which was spread at the 



104 INCIDENTS IN THE 

time the vessel struck the reef, and the top now lay 
across the rocks upon which the ship was thumping. 
We did not know that they were there, until some time 
after we had left the ship. 

The long boat had swamped at about "9 o'clock A. M. 
and some time after this, the wind died away conside- 
rably, and changed its course or direction, blowing to- 
wards the shore. My companions were almost frozen, 
and could afford me but little assistance, bat notwitli- 
standing this disadvantage, I proceeded, alone, to dis- 
engage, if possible, a portion of the deck which had 
broken up, and which hung partly over the side of the 
vessel, to which it was connected b\^ a number of ca- 
bles, and smaller ropes. By means of my knife, and 
an iron belaying pin, I succeeded in cutting away 
cables of fourteen and fifteen inches, and all the other 
fastenings, except a four inch rope, which I could not 
possibly get at. The piece of deck upon which we 
were, had now floated from the wreck, and was onlv 
attached by this rope. I had been at this work about 
six hours, and had been v/ashed from the dpck three 
times during its performance. It was now nearly night, 
and we had nothing to do, but wait, with what patience 
we could, until this fastening wore in two, as it was con- 
tinually chafing over the gunnel. This part of the 
deck was that upon which was thej^e-7-ai7,and we seated 
ourselves, together with a dog, inside this rail. Minutes 
seemed days, as we watched the incessant wearing of 
the rope across the gunnel, and it was no? until about 
midnight, that it parted. The wind blew towards the 



i^ 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 105 

shore, and we, or rather /felt some hopes of once more 
seeing lanr]. 1 was now completely exhausted, and 
committing- myself to the direction and care of Him, 
who alone could guide me on the broad highway of the 
ocean, I fell asleep. A little before day-light, a dash of 
spray, breaking over us, filled my mouth with salt wa- 
ter, and had nearly strangled me. This ^effectually 
cured my drowsiness, and wiping my eyes, I looked 
abroad upon the waters. I now believ^ed that I could 
see land, and informed my comrades of the discovery, 
but they would not indulge tliemselves in the belief 
They had not been so often disappointed, as I had, and 
they were easily disheartened by misfortune. They 
appeared to think our deliverance impossible : I ha.d 
before this, probably, shared enough of disappointmenr, 
to have taught me the folly of clinging suddenly or 
stubbornly to Hope, which, '' deferred, makes the heart 
sick," but the belief that the land was the object which 
seemed resting like a darker cloud upon the face of dark- 
ness, was so firmly established in my mind, that I would 
not cast it from me, merely because I had before tasled 
of disappointment. 

In a short time, I found that vv'e were driving rapiclly 
upon a reef of recks, and our danger appeared now to 
be greater than that which we had left, and I gave myself 
up as lost. After getting within about half a mile of 
this reet', and concluding that nothing could save us 
from beating to pieces upon it, our raft, or deck, began 
to retrograde, and we appeared to be going in haste to 
sea again. An eddy had beer* formed here, aiid we 



f 



i06. INCIDENTS IN THE 

soon found ourselves whirling around in its circling 
. course. After a few circumlocutions, we shot from our 
orbit, and were soon gliding swiftly through a narrow 
gap or channel in the rocks, and in a few minutes our 
deck Was riding quietly in a placid harbor, the land 
looming up before me, in the grey dawn of the morn- 
ing. 1 now attempted to revive the spirits of m^- com- 
panions. One of them, (Thomas Hutton.) was still 
alive, but almost beyond caring for, or participating in 
my satisfaction at the sight of land. The other, (tht- 

. ship's carpenter,) h-id passed into a world where earthly 
sufferings, and earthly miseries could no more affect 
him. Even the poor dog who had clung to the deck, 
was frozen to death. 

1 found an old shirt hanging upon the fife-rail, and 
tearing a long splinter from the deck, 1 attached the 
shirt to it, and began to wave it, backwards and for- 

. wards, over my head. I soon had the satisfaction of 
seeing four or five men, running down the hill, towards 
the beach. As soon as they came near enough to dis- 
tinguish us plain]}', they turned about, and went back. 
Our raft was nov>' stationary, and it was impossible to 
urge it one way or the other. Time passed away heavi- 
ly, and it seemed to me to be, at least, five days before 
I again saw any person. At last, tliose who had before 
noticed us, came around a point of the land, in a boat, 
having been only about four hours, in crossing the 
island, getting the boat, and returning to us. They 
told me, that this was all the time that they had been 
gone, but it seemed to me, that the hours were days. 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 107 

Even now, I seem to recollect successions of day and 
night, while between sleeping and waking in that har- 
bor. It was undoubtedly fancy, as they could have no 
inducement for deceiving me, and itwould have been im- 
possible to have sustained life so long. 






n 
M 



108 INCIDENTS IN THE 



CHAPTER Xy. 

With much ado, I succeeded in throwing myself over 
the side of the boat, but poor Hutton was so frozen and 
exhausted, that it was necessary to carry him from the 
place in which he sat to the boat, in which they seated 
him. I then pointed to the fife-rail, where the body of 
the carpenter lay. — I have rather prematurely mentioned 
that he was dead ; I did not know it, untd informed by 
the natives, who answered my direction, by saying that 
after taking care of the living, there would be still time 
enougli to see to the dead. 

We now proceeded to the shore, and upon reaching 
it, I found that 1 could walk, with the assistance of one 
man. Hutton was carried by the others, and in a short 
time, we reached the house, (which was the only one 
upon this side of the island.) By making signs to them, 
for I did not understand much of their language, I di- 
rected them to the place where our vessel had been 
wrecked, and where a part of her still lay, but without 
believing that any of her crew was yet living. 

These humane people, immediately started for the 
wreck, and having arrived near enough to discover the 
three, before mentioned, as having taken shelter in the 
foretop, they attempted to get them oif. Their efibrts 
were unavailing,owing to the violent beating of the surf, 
and they were obliged to return to the shore. Here 
they procured ropes, &c, with which they again pro- 



LIFE OF JOHN ED3ALL. 109 

ceeded to the foretop, and after a great deal ofdifiicidty, 
they succeeded in getting off tiie unhappy suiiciers, who 
they brought to the house where we were. 

A supper, and every thing calculated to revive nature 
was provided, but remained untouched, as we vvere in 
a state of such complete exhaustion, that all appetite for 
food or nourishment was entirely destroyed. We were 
then placed in bed, and slept soundly all that day, and 
the night succeeding. At about seven o'clock the next 
morning, we awoke so much renovated, that we par- 
took of a breakfast heartily. 

At this house we staid, and every attention, which 
could be expected, was bestowed upon us, nnd cold must 
be my heart, before I cease to remember the kind offices 
which were done to us, by those iiospitable Swedes, with 
the liveliest emotions of gratitude. 

Three days after my arrival at this island, I so far 
recovered as to be able to walk down to the beach, 
where the bodies of a number of my ship-mates laj-, 
half covered with the sand. These were carefully taken 
up, and buried, by those who had saved us from the 
$Hme miserable fate. 

I could not but reflect with bitterness upon the change 
§0 suddenly wrought. But a few days before, and our 
ship was manned by a large and gallant crew. AW^ 
five emaciated beings, were all that could tell her unhap- 
py stdry. But a short time before, and many liearts 
were anticipating fond meetings with wives, children, 
j(hd friends, and creating visions of happiness, in their 

native land, distant and far over the Ocean, JVotVf 

J 



INCIDENTS IN THE 

their bones were mouldering to earth, far from home, in 
a stranger, land, " unwept, unhonoured, and unsung," 
or whitening beneath the waves of the sea, 

" Down, where the joyful sunbeans never fell, 
" Where Ocean's unrecorded monsters dwell ; 
"• Where sleep earth's precious things — her rifled gold, 
" Bones bleached by ages — bodies hardly cold, 
" Of those who bowed to fate, in every form, 
*' By battle strife, by pirate, or by storm ; 
"The sailor chief, who freedom's foes defied, 
"jWrapped in the sacred flag for which he died ; 
" The wretch thrown over to the midnight foam, 
" Stabbed in his blessed dreams of love and home ; 
"The mother, with her fleshless arms still clasped, 
"Round the scared infant that in death she grasped; — 

* * * * --J: * * 

"The mournful trophies of uncounted days ; 
" All that the raiser deep has brooded o'er, 
" Since its first billow rolled to find a shore." 



V. 



^*, 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. Ill 



CHAPTER XVI. 

We were removed as soon as it was considered pro- 
dent from this place to Wardbergh, where we boarded 
at a house kept by a widow, whose daughter could 
speak English. This rendered our situation ratlier 
more comfortable, as we could the more readily make 
known our wants. 

Nothing remarkable happened at this place. Grati- 
tude, however, prompts me to say that this young wo- 
man, without the knowledge of her mother, kindly pre- 
sented me witli fifteen dollars, which enabled me to pur- 
chase many little necessaries of which we stood in need. 
We gradually recovered our strength, and after a stay 
of about five weeks at Wardbergh, we were visited by 
the English Consul at Gottenburgh, who gave orders 
to have us removed to that place. 

Gottenhurghy is quite a large town, and is near the 
mouth of the Gotha Elf. It stands in a marshy plain, 
surrounded by precipitous ridges of naked rocks, rising 
to the height of from 100 to 300 feet. The town is 
built partly on the plain, and partly on the declivity of 
one of the ridges. In the lower part of the town, the 
bouses are built on piles, driven into the ground 5 the 
streets cross each other at right angles, and several of 
tliem are traversed by canals bordered with trees. The 
' upper town is built more irregular, but has a splendid 
appearance, the houses rising one one above another m 



112 INCIDENTS IN THE 

the form of an ampitlieatre. The harbor is formed by 
' two long chains of rocks, about a quarter of a mile 
apirt, and is defended by a fort on a small rockj' island 
at the entrance. As a commercial and manufacturing 
town, Gottenburgh ranks next to Stockholm, and it is 
more conveniently situated for foreign trade, than any 
place in Sweden. Its commercial connections extend to 
all parts of Europe, to America, and to the West-Indies. 
The herring fishery is carried on to considerable extent, 
and here are also several vessels engaged in the whale 
fishery. Its population was, 1 think, at the tim.e I was 
there, estimated at about twenty thousand. 

Here 1 met with a young man from New- York, with 
• whom 1 hud been acquainted. 

Upon telling him my story, he enquired where I ex- 
pected to go, from this place. I told him that I shouldy 
in all probabiHty, be sent back to England. 

He advised me to go with lilm, as the English were at 
war with our country, and we proceeded to the house 
of the American Consul, from whom I obtained a pro- 
tection as an American Seaman, and at whose expense 
I was maintained, for six or seven weeks, when a num- 
ber of us were advised by the Consul to go to Copen- 
gen, wiiere we were told that a Privateer was fitting 
out under American colours, and wanted seamen. Af- 
ter three days and nights of constant travel by land, vve 
reached this place, but were told by the Consul here, 
that there was no such vessel at that port. He refused 
to keep us, and we were obliged to return to Gotten- 
burgh. 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. il3 

Copenhagen^ is the metropolis of Denmark, and is 
said to be the best built city of the north. It is situated 
on the eastern shore of the island of Zealand upon a 
tine bay of the Baltic, about twenty miles from the nar- 
rowest part of the Sound. Its harbor is similar totbrt 
of Havana, in the island of Cuba, not quite so large 
perhaps, but capable of holding five hundred vessels, 
and 3^et the mouth so narrow that but one ship can enter 
at a time. Tlie town is surrounded towards the land, 
by regular ramparts asd bastions, a broad ditch, filled 
with water, and a few outworks ; its circumference 
measures about five miles. The streets are well paved 
with a foot-way on each side, but too narrow and in- 
convenient for general use. The greatest part of the 
buildings are of brick, altliougli I saw a few of free- 
stone.- The houses of the nobility are generally splen- 
did, and built in the Italian style of architecture. The 
fharbor is always crowded with merchant ships, and 

"^ the streets are intersected by broad canals, which bring 
the merchandize close to the warehouses, which line 
the quays. The new town, or Frederickstown, (so 

'named from being built by Frederick V.) is extremely 
beautiful. Its centre is an octagon, containing four 
broad streets, in opposite directions. In the middle of 
the area stands an equestrian statue of Frederick V. in 
bronze, as large as life. Population, about one hun- 
c!red thousand. A canal or inlet separates Copenhagen 
from the island of Amak. This island is about four 
miles long and two broad, and was given to a colony 
from East Friesland by one* of the Danish queens, for 



.|p 



114 INCIDENTS IN THE 

the purpose orsuppl3?ing her with vegetables, cheese and 
butter. The descendants of these colonists and its 
present inhabitants, and from wearing the original dress, 
appear like a distant race. There are at Amak, two 
churches, in which the ministers preach occasionally in 
Dutch and Danish. The men wear broad brimmed 
hats, black jackets, black glazed breeches, loose at the 
knee, and tied around the waist. 1 he women v.ear 
black jackets, red petticoats, and a piece of blue cloth 
lied around their heads. The island is laid out in gar- 
dens and pastures ; and still according to the original 
design, furnishes Copenhagen with milk, butter, and 
vegetables. 

We remained here upon the consuls hands, two or 
three months, when I shipped on board a Russian ves- 
sel, and ^fter a passage of six weeks, devoid of incident 
I arrived at St. Ubes, almost naked, and completely dis- 
pirited, 

A fortnight after my arrival at St. Ubes, an Ameri- 
can brig came in from Newport, R. I. and I imme- 
diately shipped on board her, at twenty-five dollars per 
month. The captain gave a passage home, to the 
mate of an American vessel which had been wrecked. 
This was not only unfortunate forme, but for the whole 
ship, captain, crew, and all. Our passage was a long 
one, and during it, nothing happened that would be 
likely to interest the render. After we arrived at New- 
port, we were boarded by the custonirhouse officers, 
and in the mattress of the mate just mentioned, upon 
searching, was found broad-cloths and contraband 



•V 



LIFE OF JOHN CDSALL. 115 

goods of various kinds. The vessel was seized, and we 
lost our wages. There were very kw merchant ves- 
sels in the harbour, and those that were there, were 
detained by the embargo. The prospect now began to 
darken with me, but I was upon American ground, and 
congratulated myself that I was out of the reach of 
Spanish dungeons, or inquisitions. 

A young man, named John Gaul, and myself, re- 
mained on board the brig, as we were out of money, 
and could not get work. Our provisions, (of whicii 
there was not a large stock,) were rapidly consuming, 
and we began to think of doing something, by which 
we might earn our bread and butter. We had nothing 
but a few biscuit left. One morning as we sat at our 
breakfast of biscuit and Scotch' coffee, (which is made 
by burning a biscuit to a coal, and pouring upon it- 
boiling hot v^'ater,) I proposed to my companion to join 
an United States vessel. He consented, and after swal- 
lowing our meal, we started for that purpose. Both of 
us had been on board men-of-war, and were well ac- 
quainted with the usages, and it is no wonder that when 
we came in sight of the rendezvous, our courage failed, 
and we returned to the brig. Our dinner was biscuit 
and Scotch coffee, and our supper »Sco^cA coffee and bis-- 
cuii. The next morning, I overhauled my locker, and 
found that of our stock of provisions, but six iiscidt, (I 
am tired of the name,) remained, and I again proposed 
to John, to ship. This time we were driven by the 
prospect of starvation, to pass the Rubicon, Gaul en- 
tered himself by his correct name, but as I had been in 



116 INCIDENTS IN THE 

iheEiiglibli service, (at the time I was cast away,) I was 
fearful of being retaken as an English sailor, and there- 
fore fixed my mark, something in the shape of a dilapi- 
dated saw-buck, to the name of John Brown, as a sea- 
man in the Navy of the United States. 

Five davs liberty was allowed us on shore, and dur- 
ing this time, we accompanied a number of sailors to 
a dancing house, where as we got a little warm, we be- 
came rather saucy perhaps, and very soon entered into 
a quarrel w ith a party of Spaniards. We were but five 
in number, and they were fifteen. Notwithstanding 
this disparit\^ of numbers, by means of boards which 
we procured from a neighbouring fence, we in "a very 
short time had flogged the whole of them, some h ing 
upon the ground, apparently " done for," and the re- 
mainder making the best of their way to any place, 
which promised greater security. Upon hauling oft* to 
repair damages, I found that most of my clothes were 
cut off, and that there were one or two slight incisions in 
my skin and flesh. This was to me the first intimation 
that I had been meddling with edge tools. Had f 
known it before, I think there would not so many have 
been able to run. 

Soon after this, we were put on board of " Gun boat 
No. 1," and I was attached to the gig of Commodore 
Perry, who was at this time commanding the squadron 
of gun boats which lay at this place. Three weeks 
were spent in assisting to row his honour about, when I 
was promoted to the ofiice of master-at-arms on board 
the gun boat, the term of service of the former incum- 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSELL. 117 

bent having expired, and he having been discharged. 
About this time an American merchantmen had been 
chased on shore on shore by an English man-of-war, 
upon the opposite side of the island. We started across 
the land, dragging with us two or three field pieces to 
the place where she lay. As soon as \\e arrived, a 
warmly contested battle commenced, and in about an 
hour we had driven offtheenemv. Two of our men 
were killed, bat I do not know what number of the 
English. We saved the cargo and all the rigging, 
sails, Ssc. of the merchant vessel, and left the hull where 
it had now ran on shore, as we found it impossible to 
get her off. This was the hottest piece of work which 
] had been engaged in, for some time. 

Three weeks more ensued, oflazy, inactive life, when 
Commodore McDonough, who was on Lake Cham- 
plain, and who saw a prospect of a fight soon, wrote to 
Commodore Perry for seamen and marines. Our 
whole squadron was anxious to go, so much so that 
when it was announced that volunteers were called for, 
although I intended to have been the first, the number 
was made up, before I could get my name put down. 
I then applied to Commodore Perry, for leave to go, 
but he at first refused. After a considerable coaxinc, 
however, he consented to release me, and despatched a 
letter to Commodore McDonough. This day we were 
presented with twelve dollars each, which we were per- 
mitted to spend as we chose, and the reader may guess 
for himself, what became of a great part of it. The 
next day we started for Lake Charaplain, Before 



1 18 INCIDENTS IN THE 

leaving Newport, I gave a povi^er of attorney to a law- 
yer, to recover my wages, should the confiscated brig- 
be redeemed. We went as far as Providence b}'^ water, 
and from there by land, to Boston, thence to Whitehall. 
We had with us a young fellow, who was called Com- 
modore Pejijjer, He was a great annoyance to the 
country p ople and house-wives in the district through 
which we passed. He caught their chickens and geese, 
by means of a fish-hook and line, baited with corn. He 
was not liked much by the Landlords either, as he 
bilked them out of their reckonings, his prenomen oi 
*• Commodore.''^ favouring him. He told them that he 
was going on to Whitehall, should return in a week, 
and would settle the bills upon his way back. I do 
not know what became of poor Tom Pepper. The 
last that I heard from him, he had been flogged severely 
and put in chains, merely for answering to the name of 
Commodore, upon one of the western lakes. 

At Whitehall, I was put on board a small sloop, where 
I remained a few hours, when Lieutenant Raymond H. 
Perry came on board, and enquired for John Brown, 
This young man, I believe was a brother to Commodore 
Perry, and was first Lieutenant on board the Saratoga. 
Upon answering to the enquiry, I was asked if I had 
been ever on board a man-of-war, and whether I knew 
the duty of a master-at-arms. I replied that I had 
served in an English vessel, and was somewhat acquaint- 
ed with the duty. He dien told me that 1 should fill 
that station on board the Saratoga, that my wages 
should be twenty-five dollars per month. I had before 



LIFE or JOH^f EDSALL. IjQ 

received but twelve dollars per month. The next morn 
ing I took my station on board the Commodores ship 
and entered upon the duties of my office. 

.4t this time, we were in continual expectation of a 
batde, and armed boats were nightly stationed near the 
lines, with directions to keep a sharp look out, and bpon 
the appearance of any of the evening's vessels, to Rive 
d,e alarm by hoisting a red flag, and firing a musket. 
The signal, by day, was to be a white flag on Cumber- 
berland head. * 



]20 INCIDENTS IN THE 



CHAPTER XVIT. 

Things remained in this situation until the night of 
the tenth of September 1814, when we were driven from 
our moorings by a violent gale. The next morning, 
wliich was the Sabbath, was beautiful, and the sun 
shone in splendour, up^on many who befjre it shoujd set, 
would be no more. Soon after we had got the ships in 
line, which had been broken during the night, a white 
ilag was discovered flying from Cumberland head, and 
immediately after, one of our boats came around the 
point, firing muskets rapidlj , and displaying a red flag 
at her bow. It was now certain that we should have 
work to do. 

Ail hands were piped to breakfast, but not ten pounds 
of provisions were eaten in the ship; for myself, I am 
willing to confess that I had no appetite. 

All hands were then piped to quarters, and soon after 
called to the quarter deck, when the Commodore briefly 
addressed us, sa3Mng that we had work before iisr, 
which must be done, that our ships had in almost all 
engagements, been victorious, and that with our exer- 
tions, the righteous cause of liberty, and the help of 
God, we should undoubtedly be at this time. We gave 
three hearty cheers, and returned to our stations. Com- 
modore McDonough stepped below to his cabin, to pre- 
pare for the fight. He shewed the greatest coolness, 
that I supposed a man capable of manifesting. Upon 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 121 

being informed of the appearance of the British brig, 
he carelessly answered, " very well, the other vessels 
will soon shew themselves," and when the ship came 
around the point, he called for a glass of cider from the 
steward, and drinking it off, repaired to the deck. The 
engagement commenced at about nine o'clock A. M., 
and soon became general. The British ship Confi- 
ance was opposed to our ship, and we suffered much 
from their fire; not, however, without the satisfaction of 
seeing that we returned them as good as they sent. 
There was at tlic commencement of the action, some 
little skulking. It occupied all my leisure to keep back 
a negro who had come to the hold, or lower gun deck, 
(where 1 was stationed, with orders to blow out the 
brains of any who should retreat to this place, or leave 
the quarters.) When he first came doivn, he was so 
frightened that he could hardly speak. At this time, I 
vvas very busy, and could not get at him. However, m 
passing backwards and forwards, I found some pewter 
plates, and these I scaled at him, until he went on deck. 
He very soon returned, and said he wanted to cool him- 
self I This was a pretty story to tell me. The hold 
was the hottest place in the ship, and seizing a broom- 
stick, I paid awa}/ over his back and shoulders, until 
lie retreated up the ladder. As he was climbing, I con- 
tinued to beat him, and by the time he reached the up- 
per deck, his stern was covered with ridges, similar to 
the front of an organ. 

One circumstance had a marvellous effect towards 

encouraging our men. In the hottest part of li»e action 

K 



122 INCIDENTS IN THE 

a game cock, which was on board our ship, flew inCo 
the sbronds, and crowed loud and shrill three time& ; 
and I was positively assured by a sailor who was on 
board the Confiance, that their cock hid his head and 
skulked like a dastard. The inspiring strains of Chan- 
ticleer were answered by the hearty cheers of our men, 
and their work appeared to be greatly lightened. It 
was an omen to them of victory. 

During this fight, our Commodore had very often to 
work at the guns personally, and was two or three times 
driven quite across the deck by splinters. 

The number of our guns was about ten less than that 
of the enemy, and we were every other way inferior, yet 
in about two hours and a half, we had conquered them 
all, excepting a few gallies which ran away. 

I will here introduce a letter of Commodore JVIcDo- 
nough to the Secretary of the Navy, which will be 
probably interesting, as it was written immediately after 
the battle, and is of course, more likel}' to be correct, 
than I am able to give an account from memory. Cap- 
tain Henley's letter will also be read with pleasure, by 
those who hav^ not before had the opportunity. They 
are as follows J— 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 123 



Commodore McDonough's Letter, 

Lake Champlain, off Plattsburgh, "> 
U. S. Ship Saratoga, Sept. 13, 1813. j 

biR, 

I have the honour to give you the particulars of the 
action which took place on the 11th inst. on this lake. 

For several days, the enemy were on their way to 
Plattsburgh, by land and water, and it being well un- 
derstood that an attack would be made at the same time 
hy their land and naval forces, I determined to await at 
anchor, the approach of the latter. 

At eight o'clock A. M., the look out boat announced 
the approach of the enemy. At nine, he anchored in a 
line ahead, at about three hundred yards distance from 
my line ; his ship opposed to the Saratoga, his brig to 
the Eagle J captain Robert Henly, his galleys, thirteen in 
number, to the schooner, sloop, and a division of our 
galleys ; one of his sloops assisting iheir ship and brig, 
the other assisting their galleys : our remaining galleys 
with the Saratoga and Eagle* 

In this situation the whole force on both sides became 
engaged, the Saratoga suffering much from the heavy 
fire of the Confiance. I could perceive at the same 
time, however, that our fire was very destructive to her. 
Tiie Ticonderoga, Lieutenant Com. Cassin, gallantly 
sustained her full share of tlte action. At half past ten 
^'clock, the Eagle, not being able to bring her guns to 
bear, cut her cable and anchored in a more eligible posi^ 



124 INCIDENTS IN THE 

tion, between my ship and the Ticonderoga, where she 
very much annoyed the enemy, but unfortunately leav- 
ing me exposed to a galling fire from the enemy's brig. 
Our guns on the starboard side, being nearly all dis- 
mounted, or not manageable, a stern anchor was let go, 
the bow cable cut, and the ship winded with a fresh 
broadside on the enemy's ship, which soon after surren- 
dered. Our broadside was then sprun?^ to bear on the 
brig, which surrendered in fifteen minutes after. 

The sloop that was opposed to the Eagle had struck 
sometime before, and drifted down the line, the sloop 
which was with their galleys having struck also. Three 
of their galleys are said to be sunk ; the others pulled 
off. Our galleys were about obeying with alacrity the 
signal to follow them, when all the vessels w^re report- 
ed to me to be in a sinking state ; it then became neces- 
sary to annul the signal to the galleys, and order their 
men to the pumps. 

I could only look at the enemy's galleys going off in 
a shattered condition, for there was not a mast in either 
squadron that could stand to make sail on ; the lower 
rigging being nearly all shot away, hung down as 
though it had been just placed over the mast heads. 

The Saratoga had fifty-five round shot in her hull^ 
the Conjiance, one hundred and five. The enemy's 
shot passed principally just over our heads, as there 
were aot twenty whole hammocks in the nettings at the 
close of the action, which lasted without intermission 
two hours and twenty minutes. 

The absence and sickness of Lieutenant Raymond 
Perry, left me without the services of that excellent 



LIFE or JOHN EPSALL. 125 

officer ; much ought fairly to be attributed to him for 
his great care and attention in disciplining the ship's 
crew, as her first Lieutenant. His place was filled by a 
gallant young officer, Ijieutenant Peter Gamble, who, 1 
regret to inform you, was killed early in the action. 
'Acting Lieutenant Vallette worked the first and second 
divisions of guns with able cliect. Bailing Master 
Brun's attention to^ the springs, and in the execution of 
the order to wind the ship, and occasionally at the guns, 
meets with my entire approbation, also captain Youngs, 
commanding the acting marines, who took his men to 
the guns. Mr. Beale, purser, was of great service at 
the guns, and in carrying my orders throughout the 
ship, widi Midshipman Montgomer3^ Master's Mate, 
Joshua Justin, had command of the third division : his 
conduct during the action was that of a brave correct 
ollicer. Midshipman Monteath, Graham, Williamson, 
, Piatt, Thwing, and acting Midshipman Baldwin, all 
behaved \Vell, and gave evidence of their making valua- 
ble officers. The Saratoga was twice set on fire by hot 
shot from the enemy's ship. 

I close, sir. this communication with feelings of grati- 
tude, for tiie able support 1 received from every officer 
and rtian attached to the squadron which I have the 
honour to command. 

I have the honour to be, with great respect, 
Sir, 3/our most obedient servant, 

T. MACDONOUGH. 

Hon. W. Jones, Secretary of the ^^.vy. 



* 



126 INCIDENTS IN THE 



Copy of a letter from Lkutenani Henley to the Secre^ 

iary of the J^avy. 

U. S. Brig Eagle. ofi'Plattsburtili. 7 
September 12, 1814. ^ <^ 

Sir, 

Permit nie to make you acquainted with that part of 
the action of yesterday, which was particularly borne 
by the vessel w hich I have the honour to command. 

Being at anchor in the harbor of Plattsburgli, in a 
line north and south, at the distance of about one hun- 
dred yards, the Eagle north, Saratoga in the centre, 
and the Ticonderoga south, the enemy approached in a 
line abreast, with a favourable wind, which enabled him 
to clioosehis position ; his brig- taking his station on the 
biarboard bow of the Eagle, at the distance of about a 
mile, and the sloop Lnnntt of eleven guns, making an 
cflbrt to obtain a raking position under our stern. 
Perceiving the object of the sloop, I ordered her a 
broadside, which immediately compelled her to strike 
her colours. , 

At tlie moment when the enemy's ship had approach- 
ed within point blank distance, the Eagle commenced 
upon her a most destructive lire of her whole broadside, 
excepting the two long eigliteens forward, which were 
occasionally discharged at the cncm3''s brig, winch fre- 
quently changed its position, and kept up a raking and 
most destructive fire upon tbi^; vessel. 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 127 

I was confident that it was of ilie highest importance, 
in order to insure success, to endeavour first to carry the 
enemy's ship. For a great length of time after the com- 
mencement of the action, the ship levelled her whole 
force Hpon the Eagle, dealing forth destruction. 

After having sustained the severest of the action for 
more than an hour — having my springs shot away — 
many of our starboard guns disabled, and not being in 
a situilion to bring one of them to bear upon either the 
enemy's ship or brig, I ordered the cable cut, and cast 
tlie brig, taking an advantageous position a little south 
of the Saratoga, bringing my larboard side to bear upon 
the ship, which was very soon compelled to haul down 
her colours. Our fire was now directed to the bri"-, 
which struck in about eight minutes, and our contest 
ended in victory. We now turned our attention to the 
gallies, some of which, it is believed sunk, and the resi- 
due made their escape. The Eagle was in too shattered 
a condition to pursue them. 

I enclose the surgeon's report ofthe killed and wound- 
ed on board the Eagle, by which you will perceive that 
there were tliirteen killed and twenty-seven wounded, 
most of them severely : also a copy ofthe report, ofthe 
meritorious conduct of my ofilcers and crew, which I 
made to Commodore McDonough. 

I have the honour to be, 
Sir, with high respect, 

Your obedient servant, 
ROBERT IlEiXLKY. 

Hon. VV. Jonks, Secretary ofthe Navy. 



12S 



INCIDENTS IN THE 



Statement of the forces on either slde^ engaged. 



American. 

Saratoga, 26 gunr>, 
Eagle,* 20 do. 

Ticonderoga, 17 do. 
Preble, 7 do. 

14 Gallies, IG do. 

Total 86 guns: 



B 



RITISH. 



Confiance, 39 giuis, 
Linnet, 16 do. 
Chub, 11 do. 

Finch, 1 1 do. 

13 Gallies, 18 do. 

Total 95 guns. 



The enemy's metal was altogether heavier than our?, 
and they certainly supposed that the battle would ter- 
minate in their favour. It appears evident that they 
expected to beat us, and to proceed to the upper end of 
the lake, and to establish themselves on shore. For 
this purpose, they had provided themselves with heavy 
cannon for mounting, and put them on board their ves- 
sels to be landed and stationed after the entrairemciit. 
McDonough found; on examining the prizes, concealed 
under the platform of the vessels, where they served for 
ballast, twenty-five pieces of six, nine, twelve and long 
eighteen pounders, and a large quantity of grape and 
canister shot, — so happily diverted from their original 
purpose by tlie glorious victory of September 11, lSi4. 

One of the seamen was brought below having been 
struck b}' a splinter, and at intervals he would enquiio 
of me, how the battle went. In about half an hour after 
this, the Confiance struck lier colours, and uj)on infbrm- 



"n 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 129 

ing liim of the event, he gave three cheers, and upon 
learning soon after, that one of the sloops had struck,- he 
huzzaed and died. 

The two armies upon the land, had engaged at the 
same time that the fleet commenced their firing, and the 
British troops attempted at different places, to cross the 
Saranac. At a ford above the village, the strife was 
hot and deadly. As often as the enemy advanced into 
the water, they received a destructive fire from the mi- 
litia, and their dead bodies floated down the stream, 
vvhicli was literally reddened with blood. The shout of 
victory from the fleet, animated to braver deeds their 
brethren on die land ; and in a few hours the English 
were entirely routed and dispersed with a loss of about 
three thousand men. 

Seldom has the ocean witnessed a more furious strug- 
gle, than took place on the transparent and placid bosom 
of this little lake, and earth shews but a few spots more 
deeply died in crimson, than the shores of Plattsburgh. 

After getting the prisoners on board, I found that the 
English sailors had brought with them large canteens 
of liquor, and were singing and carousing merrily 
with our seamen. 

I reported them to the 2d Lieutenant, (believing that 
their object might be to intoxicate our men, and 
attempt to get possession of the vessel.) He told me 
that I must take the liquor away from them, but upon 
demanding it, they damned me for a " Yankee son of 
a bitch," and I found it necessary to arm myself before 
I could succeed in getting the liquor, which when col- 



130 INCIDENTS IN THE 

lected, was thrown overboard, (the usual custom ou 
board meu of war.) Our commodore received orders 
about three weeks after the engagement, to lay up the 
fleet at Whitehall, which he did. Those who could be 
spared, were sent on to Lake Ontario. I remained to 
clean and box up the arms which had been taken, as 
well as those belonging originally to us. After getting 
through this work, although still retained in the service, 
I had nothing to do, and time hung rather heavily upon 
my hands. 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSELL. 131 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

I Passing, one day, a slaughter house, I saw a person 
i engaged in dressing cattle, and as I had no other busi- 
Hiess, I volunteered my services, in assisting to dress 
three or four cattle, which offer was accepted. The 
next day, I again went to the slaughter house, when 
they were engaged in cutting up the same cattle, and 
here I recognised ray old friend, " Uncle Nat," or as 
he is called, (since time has scattered her frost upon his 
locks, and a few good-natured wrinkles, rather ornament 
his face than disfigure it,) the " Young Man." I soon 
scraped acquaintance with him, or rather renewed a for- 
mer acquaintance. I used very often, to visit this slaugh- 
ter house, and assist him in his work, and he frequently 
^presented me with a roasting piece of beef, upon which 
my mess regaled themselves, as this was about the only 
way that we could get hold of the fresh. Five weeks 
passed in this way, when I was ordered to join the Inde- 
pendence^ 74, lying at Boston. I came by land, through 
Lansingburgh and Troy, to Albany. Here we em- 
barked on board a sloop for New-York. Many long 
years had passed away, of toil and chains, and suffer- 
ings, and sickness, and I found myself at the port from 
which I had started in the morning of my life, a more 
experienced, if not " a wiser and a better man." When 
I had left this place, I had believed that the world wai 
all fair and beautiful, and I had now returned to tell tl»€ 



132 INCIDENTS IN THE 

Story that it was a " w hited sepulchre." I had left a 
sister in New-York, and hoping that she still lived, I 
was anxious to see her. During" all my absence, 1 had 
received no tidings of home Oj* kindred, and my prox- 
imity to any relative, to whom I could relate my wan- 
derings, and hope for commisseration, induced me to 
apply to the officer commanding, (Lieutenant Valetle,) 
for leave to go on shore. This was refused, on the 
ground that he did not know how soon tlie wind might 
change, and should it be fair before morning, we were 
to proceed to Boston in a schooner which v/as chartered, 
and ready to sail. I replied that I saw no prospect or 
appearance of a change of wind, but that if it should 
so happen, I would take a land carriage to Boston. — 
but he still refused to let me go. The captain of the 
vessel overheard this conversation, and came to me and 
said " Master-at-arms, you can be put on shore by my 
boat after dark, and by taking care to get off early in 
the morning, your absence will not be discovered." I 
thanked him for his kind offer, and accepted it, and was 
accordingly, soon after dusk, rowed to the w harf After 
getting on shore, I travelled about, a stranger in the 
home of my childhood. My sister had removed fi'om 
her former place of residence, and I coidd learn no 
tidings of her. The night wore late, and i could not 
procure lodgings, every public house being professedly 
fdled. In this dilemma, I applied to a watchman. Pie 
told me that he was acquainted with n)y brother-in-law, 
but could not tell where he lived. After trying to pro- 1 
cure lodging for me, in vain, he invited me to go withi 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSaLL. 1 33 

V 

him to the watch-house, which 1 did. Before day- hreuk, 
and as soon as I could hear any one stirring, I started 
again for the iiouse occupied by my brotlier-in-law and 
sister, wlien I left New York. I hue found a young 
lad, and enquired whether he was acquainted with John 
Garret, Fie said he was, and I gave him two shillings 
to pilot me to his door. He was ju>t rising as ! arrived 
there, and after making myself known to him, lie ac- 
quainted my sister with my cominr^. I had supposed 
that tears could not he wrung from me, but I was mis- 
taken, for upon this interview ! wept like a child. My 
sister urged me to leave the servi< e, but as I had not 
yet received my pay, I refused, and nfter a short stay, I 
left her, nnd hired a boat to convey me on board the 
sloop, which 1 reached so early, t'lat I had not been 
missed. 

We soon after were transferred to the schooner, and 
the wind hauling round favorable, \n tfie afternoon we 
started for Boston The wind continued fair, until we 
got oui of Long Island Sound, when it headed us, and 
we put into Newport. To some of my readers a ha^tv 
sketch of the general appearance of this place, may not 
be uninteresting. It stands on the south or southeast 
side of tiie island, and is about five miles from the sea. 
The harbour spreads to the westward before the town, 
is one of the finest in the world, and is defended 
by a fortification upon Goat Island. The town is built 
on a beautiful declivity or slope, rising, gradually from 
the water, and presenting a splendid view as we enter 
the harbor, which is deep enough for ships of the grcat-^ 



134 Incidents in the 

est burthen, and large enough for the largest ileet. The 
handsome situation, and the salubritj- of the climate, 
have made Newport a place of considerable fashionable 
resort. After we had come to anchor, I was dispatched, 
by the Lieutenant, with the boat and six men, to pro- 
cure a supply of water. After bringing one boat load, 
it being late in afternoon, I requested permission to stay 
on shore during the night, which was granted. I then 
went to the lawyer, with whom I had left my bill of 
wages against the vessel which was seized here, as I 
liave mentioned in another part of my story. He had 
recovered for me fifty dollars, and retaining for his trou- 
blCj five dollars, he paid me the balance. (This money 
came very opportunely, as my pockets were almost un- 
tenanted.) 

The next morning upon going to the wharf, I saw 
that the vessel had gone, and was soon met by the Lieu- 
tenant, who had also spent the night on shore. We 
were now left to find our wav to Boston, as well as we 
could. We hired separate conveyances by land thither, 
and I reached Boston before either the Lieutenant or 
vessel. Two days after my arrival, the vessel came in, 
and 1 immediately went on board and reported myself. 
From the vessel, we went to the navy-yard, off which 
the Independence was lying, and on board of which we 
were soon after ordered. Upon answering to my as- 
sumed name of Jolin Broimi, I was told that I should 
still retain the ofiice of Master-at-arms, wliich I had 
held on board the Saratoga, and at the same wages 
(§25 per" month.) We remained here about three 



vf 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 135 

weeks, when we supposed we were ready for sea. 
Upon trying tlie ship, in the Bay with a light breeze, we 
found that she was very cranky and would hardly " stand 
up." This was owing to having her heavier guns 
upon the upper deck, partly, and partly to the build of 
the ship. We returned to the navy yard, and shifted 
her guns, putting her long thirty-two pounders upon 
her lower deck, and replacing them upon the upper 
deck, with short 32's. She was now in better trim, al- 
though Comodore Bainbridge never carried a press of 
sail upon her, while 1 was on board. 



136 ir^CIDENTS IN THE 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Man is a strange animal, and no where, belter than 
on sbip-board, can the slightest difierfnce in the nature 
of the species^ be discovered, I have now in my posses- 
sion a small portion of m^ '-'' Morning Re.j)oris''^ con- 
taii?ing but 110 names, of those who were imprisoned 
and nnder my charge for petty offences, but this will 
serve to shew the vast difference in officers. Some will 
be sure of the good will of every sailor under their com^- 
mand, while others would hardly get a line thrown to 
them, if they were overboard. Of thirteen Lieutenants 
fiu'iudinG- those wJio were on board, wnitina for order* 
to join their respective vessels) Lieutenant Finch was the 
most tyrannical. More than one third of the above 
number of prisoners (as appears by the before mentioned 
•' Report*') were confined by his orders, and that too, 
(as also appears from the same document) for ihe most 
trifling matters, no other officer, condescending to com- 
mit a sailor for insolent language, (none ever, in fact 
being made use of, to any one but him.) 

After a passage of about three weeks, we arrived at 
Gibraltar and anchored off this place, where we remained 
five days, getting in water and provisions, when we 
weighed anchor and proceeded up the Mediteranean to 
1 unis. I wnil here give a copy of a letter from Com. 
Bainbridge to the Secretary of the navy. 



LIFE OP JOHN KOSALL. 13? 



** U. S. Ship Indf.fendence, off the Bay of Tunis, ) 
S'epteniber 0, 1815. J 

I had the lionour of making communicatior.s to you 
from Cartliagena gn the 1 0th iihimo, from which place 
1 sailed with the Independence, Congress, Erie, Chip- 
pewa and Spark, destined for Tripoli, having learned 
that a misunderstanding existed between the Basliaw of 
that place, and our Consul residing there. On my way 
I called at Algiers to exhibit this additional force off 
there, presuming it would have some weight, in pre- 
serving the peace which had just been made ; for the 
only mode of convincing these people is by ocular 
demonstration ; 

On my arrival off Tripoli, 1 learned that Commodore 
Decatur, had been there with the first squadron, and 
had adjusted our differences, which existed at that place. 
Our Consul at Tripoli informed me, that the exihibitlng 
of our navaf force before Tripoli, had produced a most 
favorable cliange in the disposition of the Bashaw for 
preserving the peace widi us.. 

At Tripoli, learning that the Bey of Tunis was rest- 
less towards the United States, I immediately pro- 
ceeded, with the vessel with me, for that place. 

On my arrival at Tunis, 1 learned by letter from our 
Consul there, that the Bey and his officers were friendly 
iiisposed towards us. 

Having, agreeably to your instructions, exhibited the 
force under my command to all the Barbary powers, 

L* 



138 INCIDENTS IN THE 

(and which, 1 believe, will have a tendency to prolcnrr 
our treaties with them,) I have only now, in further 
obedience to those instructions, to '/eturn with the 
squadron to the United States." 

A few days before our arrival, Decatur had succeeded 
ill bringing the Algerines, Tripolitans, and Tunisians 
to their senses, and was about concluding with them a 
treaty highly honorable to our country, and we found 
ourselves deprived of the sport we had anticipated wiih 
the turbaned and mustachioed gentry. 

We remained at Carthagena until the squadron was 
ready to sail. It required about four weeks to collect 
the vessels, and we then started on our return to the Uni- 
ted States. We touched at Gibraltar for the purpose 
♦f getting fresh provisions, vegetables &c., and while here 
we were visited by a number of British officers, who 
expressed their admiration of the Independence, declar- 
ing that they had never seen so beautiful a piece of na- 
val architecture. Commodore Bainbridge led them 
through every part of the vessel, and I had an opportu- 
nity of hearing their rem?»rks, which were those of the 
most decided admiration, particularly of the guns in our 
foretop, which discharged by a single snap of the cock, 
a great number of balls in rapid succession. 

Our cook here shewed his skill at making soup. He 
put into the copper, beef, potatoes, onions, watermelons, 
pumpkins, corn, garlic and every thing else which the 
ship or the markets oh shore could afford, and such 
soup as this, never was, and I venture to say, never will 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 139 

be again seen or tasted. Our fleet was liighly respected 
in the Mediteraiiean, an evidence of which, is the giv- 
ing up, or waiving the claim of tribute, which they re- 
quired of every other nation, to the state of Algiers. 

It is said the Dey, ver}'^ reluctantly, gave up all idea 
of receiving tribute from the Americans, and alleged 
among other things, that other nations, if he consented, 
might take advantage of it, and perhaps unite and oc- 
casion his destruction. He said it was not the amount 
or value of the thing he was particular about, but the 
receiving something annually from the Americans, would 
add to his security, if it were only a little powder. 

Commodore Decatur answered him, that he thought 
it very probable, if he insisted upon receiving powder 
from the Americans as tribute, his wishes would be 
gratified, but he certainly must expect to receive balls 
with it. — His Deyship conceded tiie point. 

The Spaniards did not knovv what to make of us. 
They said that we had beat the English, who beat the 
French, who beat them^ who nobody ever beat before, 
— and the Algerines, whom the devil could not beat. 

At the time when Decatur arrived in sight of Gibral- 
tar, a great number of British officers and citizens and 
among them an American gentleman, were assembled 
on an eminence to view the American fleet. Decatur 
entered the harbor with his squadron in a very fine style ; 
sailed around, and went out without coming to anchor 
— ^his object being merely to make signals to the sloop 
of War Ontario, The British oflicers were very desir- 
ous of knowing the different names of the vessels of 



140 INCIDENTS IN THE 

the squadron as they approached. The shrewd Ameri- 
can pretended to know the names of every vessel, the 
moment he saw her broadside, and they crowded around 
him for information. The first he said, was the Guer- 
Here ; the next the Macedonian ; the next w as thi^ Java ; 
the next was the Epervier ; the next the /^tflcocA: ; (all 
captured from the British during the war) the next 

"Never mind the next"- said they, and 

moved off, highly disbgusted with the names of the 
Yankee squadron. 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 141 



CHAPTER XX. 

Our passage from Carthagena to Boston, took about 
four weeks, and as the time tor which 1 had shipped had 
long before expired, I looked to be discharged, but by 
an unaccountable mistake, I found (or rather was told 
by Lieutenant Finch) that I had still six months to serve. 
This seemed the more inexplicable to me, as John Gar- 
ret who had enlisted with me at Newport, (one pen 
filled with ink serving to write both names,) was dis- 
charged immediately upon our arrival at BoslcM. I 
applied to the Lieutenant for my discharge and was re- 
fused it. I then procured a letter to be written to Cora. 
Bainbridge, who was on shore. The next day he came 
on board, and told me that although the roll did not au- 
thorise my discharge, yet he had so much confidence in 
my assertion, that I should be immediately released from 
tiie service. He went on shore and I did not see him 
for about a fortnight. I requested my discharge from 
Lieutenant Finch often, and was as often refused. Upon 
Commodore Bainbridge's again coming on board, I 
complained to him. He appeared to be in a passion 
at the treatment I had received, said that he had ordered 
the Lieutenant to discharge me, and calling upon hiui 
Eaid, *' Mr. Finch, let the master-at-arms be released 
from service this day, — look to it." The purser wais 
on shore. He was immediately sent for, and I was dis- 
charged. My wages, together with the prize-money of 



142 INCIDENTS IN THE 

the vessels captured on Lake Champlain, amounted at 
this time, to ^1,721, for which sum I received a cheque 
on the U. S. Branch Bank at Boston. 

From Boston, 1 took the stage to New York, and 
called to see my old employer John Fink. He was nol 
at home, and 1 went into the house, and commenced a 
conversation with Mrs. Fink. I told her tiiat i Lad a 
message from one John Edsall to Mr. Fink, that Edsall 
was at Boston, &,c. After a short talk, I told her my 
name, and was obliged to relate some little anecdotes, 
which I knew she recollected, before she would believe 
me. The next day I called, and found Mr. Fink at 
home, I enquired what he meant by sending me off in 
the expedition. He replied that he was as ignorant as 
myself, as to the nature of it. After giving him a pretty 
severe bl-.ssing (for 1 could then stvear equal to a pri- 
vateersmen) I left him, my mind more at ease, and bet- 
ter-natured towards him and every one else. 

I now rented a stall or shop on Manhattan Island, 
and followed the butchering and marketing business 
about ten months, at the end of which time, I took an 
observation, and making a calculation, I found I was 
making stern-way. 

Mr. John Fink had agreed to pay me Jl5 per month 
for the time I was gone on the expedition, (or to guard 
the mail) and 1 now determined to be even with him if 
possible, and called upon him to purchase four cattle for 
me, which he did. These I paid for, in hopes to get a 
better haul from him. T soon after, got him to purchase 
four head of cattle more for me. These I did not pay 



LIFE 06' JOHN ED3ALL. 143 

for, nor did I intend to do so. I entered into a specu- 
lation here, which was about as profitable as a great 
many of my subsequent ones have been. I bought in 
company with a friend, a cargo of staves and advanced 
$40 on them, but not liking the looks of the vessel 
which we had chartered to ship them in, I chose to 
keep out of the way and lose my $40 rather than take 
them. Nothing but the paint, which had lately been 
laid on with an unsparing hand, kept our chartered 
vessel together, and I believed it better to throw away a 
little than to lose the whole. I did however lose the 
whole in the end, but as the reader is already tired of 
my prolixity, I will not trouble him witii the circum- 
«»tances. I procured my bills to be made out, and leav- 
ing them in the hands of an officer for collection, I 
shipped on board the brig Ransom for Bordeaux. 

Our passage from New York had been of five weeks 
duration, when we arrived on the coast of France. We 
had missed the harbor of Bordeaux, owing to cloudy 
weather, which prevented us from getting an observa- 
tion. The weather was very tempestuous, and heavy 
winds blovving on snore. After lying " off and on" 
for three days, a pilot came out and offered to con- 
duct us into port, and he directed us to follow his 
boat, which we did. In a short time after this, a squall 
struck us, and knocked the vessel upon her beams-ends, 
and we were entirely under water for some time, when 
she righted, and we, at last, got safely into the harbor of 
Bordeaux. I had here a considerable leisure lime on 
shore, and spent it pleasantly. A method of getting a 



144 INCIDENTS IN THE 

livelihood in this place, was to me altogether novel, al- 
though perhaps it is common throughout all France. 
A parcel of idle fellows too laz3' to work, nnd too cow- 
ardly to steal, procure half a dozen young dogs, and 
train them to dancing. They come into town with these 
puppies in panniers, three^ dressed in male attire, occu- 
pying one basket, and three others, clothed in female dress 
tiie opposite one, andwhere they see two or three persons 
sitting a- the windows, or gathered in groups in the 
street, they unloose the dogs from their confinement, and 
the strolling musician comnieiices playing a lively air 
upon a flute. The dogs pair oii' in couples, and I ven- 
ture to say that jigs and reels, vvliich 1 have seen them 
dance, could not be surpassed by many of our nimblest 
cotillion dancers, though taught by a stray-French-fid- 
dling-pirouetting-chasseeing-dos-'i-d(! .-ing vagabond, 
who might condescend to leave icaeinng dogs in kis 
own country, for the nobler empl.>yinent of learning 
bipeds in ours, how often it is ginieel to cross legs be- 
fore the ladies, (giving us probably the advantage in 
number of flourishes, as the dogs have it in the number 
of legs.) 

We staid here five weeks unloading our cargo, which 
consisted of flour, pork and beef, and sailed for St. 
Petersburg (Kussia) to get in a return cargo of iron 
and hemp. Upon our arrival iiere, the Captain ordered 
the cook to secrete the lamps and oil-cans during the 
day. This he neglected, and the consequence was, that 
upon completing our lading, we found that the Russians 
who were hired to assist in loadnig the vessel, had eaten 



LIFE OF JOHN ED5ALL. 145 

up almost all our oil, using it instead of butter upon 
tiieir bread. Indeed, they actually emptied it from the 
lamps, and drank it with the greatest avidity. 



M 



146 INCIDENTS IN THE 



CHAPTER XXI. 

* 

We were at St. Petersburgh about two months, dis* 
charging and taking in cargo, when we started for New- 
York. We had on board a man named William Flan- 
nigan, who was shipped as an able seaman, but who 
was totally ignorant of his duty. This made our's the 
more laborious, as we were obliged to hand, reefj and 
steer for him. The captain and mate were particulariy 
vexed with him, and put him to the meanest duties on 
board ship. 

One day he had a quarrel with the mate, who had 
him tied hand and foot, and was about throwing him 
neck and heels into the boat, for the purpose of sending 
him on shore to be put in prison. As the boat lay ten 
feet down from the gangway, the crew considered this 
as a hazardous experiment, and we interfered, and pro- 
bably saved the poor fellow^s neck from being broke. 
The mate soon got over his passion, and the man went 
to his duty, which I have before mentioned as being the 
dirtiest, most arduous, and most dangerous in the ship. 

This was to him a lesson (which it is not likely he 
ever forgot,) not afterwards to ship for a berth which 
he could not fill. 

Nothing remarkable happened during this voyage, 
and as seamen's wages were very low, I hired to work 
as a butcher, with one Thomas Dunning, of Harlaem, 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL, 147 

at which business I continued for six monj^lis. I had a 
rather monotonous time of it, riding about the coun- 
try peddling meat, and slaughtering it, occupying the 

whole. 

While at this business I again came near my end. 

Riding to town to buy a pair of cattle, my horse stum- ^ 

bled, and we both fell, and for some time I was entirely 

insensible. When I recovered, I found ivy faitliAil 

beast standing near, and gazing piteously upon rne. 

This is the only circumstance which strikes me forcibly, 

that it is likely any person will care of reading it. 

Wages getting higher, I shipped on boa'rd a brig for 
Baltimore, as seaman, vvith an " adventure^^ of fifty 
barrels of apples, my own property. While engaged 
in loadina: her, as a number of us were liftins: boxes 
of copper, upon poles, the whole weight slipped down 
upon mo. 

I felt quite a shock at the time, but continued at my 
work until I could work no longer, and went forward to 
the gunnel, over which I leaned. Cold chills ran over 
me, and I grew rapidly worse. The mate came to me, 
and enquired whether I was ill. I told him that I be- 
lieved it was nothing but a touch of the fever and ague, 
from vihich I thought I should soon recover. He 
advised me to go below, which I did, and continued to 
grow continually more unwell, until the next morning, 
when 1 was taken to my sister's house, where I lay una- 
ble to help myself in or out of bed, for six weeks; at 
the end of which time, I received, as a consolation for 
paying a doctor's bill, the pleasing intelligence, that my 



148 INCIDENTS IN THE 

apples, for wkich I had paid twelve shillings per barrel, 
had actually netted me ten shillings each barrel ! 

After my recovery, I shipped on board the brig Fan- 
ny //or Madeira, which place we reached in seven weeks, 
after a very hard passage, the weather being extremely 
tempestuous and rain3^ 

Upon the passage we had put into Havana, in the 
island of Cuba, for water. I was sent with the boat to 
fill the water-casks, and as " first come, first served" 
was the motto here, I bid fair to be soon supplied, as 
there was but one Spanish boat before me at the foun- 
tain. Just as this boat was filled, another came up, and 
endeavoured to cut me out. Upon my remonstrating 
with the Spaniard v.'ho commanded it, he drew a knife. 
This raised my Yankee spirit, and I raised my oar and 
knocked him stiff. Upon recovering, he was very 
peaceable, and I soon had my casks filled. 

At Madeira we took in a cargo of wines and fruit 
in exchange for lard, beef, pork, and other provisions 
which occupied us about five weeks, at the end of which 
time, we started homeward. Our passage was a pleas- 
ant one, until we got off Barnegat shoals, when we ran 
upon the rocks, where the vessel and cargo was entirely 
lost. A pilot boat, providentially came in sight, we 
were taken up, and conveyed to New-York, withont tke 
loss of any lives. 

Having received two or more letters from Samuel 
Baker, who had been a gunner on board the Saratoga, 
and who was living at Whitehall, desiring me to come 
and see him. I had about sickened of the sea, and con- 



LIFE OF JOHN EDSALL. 149 



eluded to visit hira. At Lansingburgh I met witii a 
'^y^oung man named Mathew Bird, a fellow apprentice, 
who was foreman in Horace Turner's slaughter house. 
Ue offered to procure me work, and I staid here two 
months at the rate of twelve shillings per day and my 
hoard. This was a very fair business; and i do not 
recollect, that any thing, either marvellous, disastrou?, 
.or lamentable, occured, excepting that I once cut my 
finger badlj^, while engaged in carving stolen poultry. 
At the end of this time, i went to Whitehall, upon my 
visit to Mr. Baker, where I spent three weeks, very 
pleasantly. I then started for New-York, and stopping 
at Lansingburgh, called to see Mr. Turner. He en- 
quired whether I wished to procure work, and upon my 
answering in the affirmative, he told me that John 
Grace, fVom Catskill, wanted a journeyman. I had an 
interview with this person, which ended in my agreeing 
to work for him, at the rate of fifteen dollars a month, 
with board, washing, he. 

Fifteen years ago, in the month of March, I arrived 
at this place; and here I am likely to remain, during 
the residue of niy fleeting days; and I know not that 
I ought to wish for a more comfortable resting-place, 
after a life of vicissitudes. 

As marriap-e i? considered one of the eras in the life 
of man, it may not be amiss, or entirely out of place 
here, to mention tiiat I have launched into the ocean of 
matrimony; and although it would be arrogance for 
mCf to boast diat the partner of my bosom, is '• beautiful 



150 INCIDENTS IN THE 

as an Houri" yet 1 may be permitted to say, that she 
answers my purpose as a g©od housewife, an affectionate 
and prudent companion, ministering cheerfully to my 
comfort. 

I now bid adieu to those who have lent their atten- 
tion to the story of my wanderings ; with fervent and 
heartfelt wishes, that they may pass through this world, 
at best " a fleeting show," peacefully, as it is the privi- 
lege of man to journey ; and that the imperfect narra- 
tive, which they have now perused, may never be pre- 
sented to them, in a more sad reality, than as " a tale 
that is toW JOHN EDSALL. 



# 



151 



APPENDIX. 



(A.) 

The following extract from the United Service Journal, 
will serve as a corroboration of my story, and will show 
some facts with which I was at the time, unacquainted. 
It is from the Journal of an officer on board the Cleo- 
patra. 

" Whilst cruising in H. M. Ship Cleopatra, 450 miles 
io the southward of the Bermudas, we fell in with a war- 
like-looking ship, on the i2th February, 1806 ; chase was 
immediately given, and in a short time we hove-to along 
I side of her. She was a fine roomy corvette, mounting 

eighteen or twenty guns, under American colours, and 
called the " Leander ;" her decks were crowded wdth men^ 
mostly landsmen. The officers of the frigate were rub- 
bing their hands with great glee, anticipating a rich prize ; 
and all were busy in conjecturing what she was, and where 
her destination could be. America being neutral at that 
time:, that she was fitted for war there could be no ques 
tion ; and it was equally apparent that she was not r 
national ship. From the vague and evasive answers 
which were given to the questions of the boarding officei 



152 APPENDIX. 

by those of the Leaiider, and the appearance of satlJIes 
and accrutrements for diagoons between decks, suspicion 
began to arise as to the lavvfuhiess of tlieir intentions, 
and it was supposed that the assumed flag of the United 
States, which nation we knew was not numbered among 
the beUigcrants, was merely a cloak to cover their designs. 
Some amongst us thouglit that the system of Buccaneer- 
ing had re%aved, and that the expedition was destined 
against tlie Spanish ports of South America, by the. way, 
as in olden time, of the Isthmus of Darien: others con- 
sidered her as a pirate of a nevv order, who intended to 
scour the coasts of Spanish America simultaneously by 
sea and land ; that tlie landsmen on board were to be em- 
ployed in that way as " Hor^e-marines;" v.hlle the most 
discerning, though less enthusiastic speculators, soberly 
thought that the expedition, notwithstanding the mystery 
in which it appeared to be involved, was duly authorized 
by some povi^er. 

Several hours were consumed in endeavours to discover 
by interrogatories their intentions and destination, but to 
no purpose. The second lieutenant and a midshipman 
of the frigate were sent on board to examine her minutely, 
to search her holds, and to find out what were the con- 
tents of her cargo: on requesting a light and lantern for 
this purpose, the chief officer under tlie captain, who a])- 
peared an active intelligent young man,* declined cornpli- 

* This gentleman's name was Snllivan: he wjs the son of a mer- 
chant Ca native of Ireland) of Bo.«ton, in Newi'^Ensli^nd. 'l"he iovs of 
enterprise had led him (o embark with Miranda, and in this unfortu- 
nate expedition he was taken prisoner, and condemned to the mines. 
It is singular that the mid above spoken of, happened to be on board 
the vessel of war which received Mr. S. off Carihagena, when he 
escaped from prison. 



APPENDIX. 153 

ance, as an accident might happen, and the ship be set 
on fire ; he at last rekictantly consented, and said he would 
himself bring it down. The Mid descended into the 
lower deck, and was perfectly surprised at the appearance 
it made; saddles, bridles, hussar-jackets, sabres, pistols, 
carbines, clonks, belts, cartridge boxes, helmets, and other 
trappings and habiliments of wv.r, lay scattered about in 
every direction. After examming every part of this deck^ 
he went into the main-hatch-way to wait for the light; 
in a short time the officer descended with it, and as the 
Mid took it from him, he whispered, *' Take my advice, 
and do not remove the light from the lantern," and imme- 
diately jumped upon the main-deck. The Mid was not 
at all disposed to follow the Mate's advice, as he consid- 
ered (under the influence of impressions which had been 
forced upon our minds from appearances, &.c.) it had been 
o-iven merely because he did not wish the cargo to be 
examined with scrutiny. On taking a glance along the 
line of hold, the Mid found an entire tier, fore-and-aft, of 
wine pipes, and as he could not see what was beneath these, 
he laid himself down at length upon them, and taking the 
candle from the lantern, let it down in his hand, as far as 
the length of his arm would admit, between the anofle 
formed by the chimes of the casks ; this gave him a view 
down to the kelson, and there appeared to be three tiers of 
wine pipes, and nothing else : whilst making sure of this, 
by removing from side to side of the vessel, and as far 
forward and aft as he could go, his attention was arrested 
by a confusion upon deck ; he was shortly afterwards 
called by name, and requested by the mate to come upon 
deck. On going up he met Lieut. L , who informed 



154 APPENDIX. 

him that, in consequence of his having taken the .candle 
out of the lantern, and lowered it between the casks, the 
officers of the ship had became alarmed, and disclosed a 
part of their secret ; which was, that most of the casks 
contained gunpowder! This article being contraband, 
the Captain of the ship, of course, couid not be expected, 
except in a case of necessity, to make a gratuitous confes- 
sion ; the necessity, however, seemed very apparent, as a 
spark from the candle^ lodging upon the chips and straw 
which lay at the bottom of the hold, would have set fire 
to the ship, and blown her up, and thus all their hopes of 
glory and gold would have ended " in smoke." 

Our lieutenant, (a nephew of Earl L ,) an accom- 
plished, honourable, and most worthy young officer, in 
the mean time, had been endeavouring to sift out from the 
captain, officers, and passengers, the destination of the 
armament, as it now clearly appeared that, beside the 
crew, there were many soldiers on board, and a fat elderly 
gentleman who was styled "General;" but as no farther 
information could be obtained, and the commander perti- 
naciously refused to give a satisfactory account of his 
vessel, the captain of the frigate sent to inform him, that 
it was his intention to conduct him to the Admiral at Ber- 
muda. Upon the intimation, the eld gentleman who was 
styled " General," requested permission to go on board 
the Cleopatra, to commune with her commander. This 
was instantly granted, and he was taken on board in the 
frigate's boat. He was a fleshy, swarthy man, about five 
feet eight or nine inches in height, without the slightest 
air militaire, about him : had I been asked his profession 
ftnd n^tipn, I certainly should have said he was a French 



APPENDIX. 155 

traiteur — to have taken him for a soldier and a Spaniard, 
I never should, so likely are we to be deceived in our 
opinions. The old gentleman had some difficulty to get 
up the ship's side ; but he disdained assistance, and trivial 
as this circumstance was, it served to show that there was 
energy in the mind, whatever want of it may have 
appeared in the outward semblance of the patriotic leader. 
On observing a young midshipman steering the boat, he 
remarked that it was no wonder that the British were so 
superiour to other nations at sea, when they enter at so 
early an age on their professional duties. 

The officers of the frigate were sanguine in their hopes, 
that the ship would be sent in, and prove a valuable prize ; 
and there is little doubt that had she been detained for 
adjudication, her condemnation would have followed, 
although it is more than probable she would have been 
released : but whether, under such pecuHai circumstances, 
the government at home would have paid her value as 
prize-money to the captors, is a question I cannot resolve : 
however, this expectation of the officers, after the lapse of 
a few hours, was completely set aside: the old " General" 
was conveyed back to the ship, and in a short time we 
mutually separated. It afterwards appeared that the old 
gentleman was no other personage than the celebrated 
General Miranda, and that this expedition (of which the 
Leander was the herald) was the first undertaken in the 
cause of South American independence, and had been 
fitted out in the United States of North America, to act 
against the Caraccus : he was himself a native of that part 
of the continent, but had been a general in the French 
repubUcan service. Our government, it appeared, coun- 



156 APPENDIX. 

tenanced and encouraged this expedition : the general is 

said to have laid a letter trom the Right Hon. William 

Pitt himself on the subject, before the captain of this 

frigate ; and this, according to the report on board, was 

the reason of his vessel not having been detained by the 

Cleopatra. The general's expedition, as might have been 

anticipated from the motley band who served under ,liim, 

was unsuccessful, and he ultimately perished by treachery ; 

nevertheless, it roused the slumbering spirit of revolt 

throughout Spanish America, and which, after a severe 

struggle, has been crowned with success: but, I believe, 

she name of General Miranda is forgotten by his country- 

tmen, who, most certainly, ovve his memory some tribute 

for his having been, as it were, the directing spirit towards 

their emancipation. 

In the Cleopatra during a dark night, we came up unex- 
pectedly alongside of a large ship, which being hailed j 
answered "Mark Antony;" she, in her turn, asked 
" What ship 1" and the response was " Cleopatra." — 
This is one of those coincidences often met with in the 
events of the world. A similar one occurred at a British 
port about two years ago, in the arrival, on the 18th of 
June, of the ships Wellington and Waterloo. 

Antonio Ciego. 



LbAg'?9 



w 



■I 



